Last night, the Arizona Financial Theatre dipped into a psychedelic realm. Stage name Djo (musician, actor, and sonic architect) Joe Keery brought his Another Bite Tour to a sold-out Phoenix crowd. Keery has long since outgrown the novelty of his on-screen fame. As Djo, he’s built a rich, genre-blurring musical identity that merges retro synths, existential lyrics, and guitar-driven grooves. Unmistakably his own genre. 

From the moment the lights dimmed, the audience was completely locked in. Some fans had been waiting since the early hours of the morning. Their energy hadn’t been drained, but fueled. Some fans even have made the Phoenix show another notch in this tour’s belt. The love for Djo as an artist is absolutely something his fans are committed to. 

Opening with "Awake" Djo stood alone beneath a wash of red light. Acoustic guitar in hand strumming through the excitement. The hush that fell over the crowd was immediate. It was an unusually intimate way to open a set in the best of ways. No fanfare. No theatrics. Just a voice and strings in near silence. It was haunting, soft, and stunning. 

Things quickly shifted gears with "Uglyfisherman" where Djo stepped behind the synthesizer. Twisting knobs and sending waves of cosmic distortion through the theater. It was a moment of half jam session, and half transmission from another planet. "Basic Being Basic" shot adrenaline through the venue. With Keery leaping onto raised platforms and pointing into the crowd the energy was ecstatic. The audience mirrored the energy given. Hands lifted into the air, bodies bouncing. Djo seemed to have thrived in these moments. It all was joyfully chaotic.

"Gloom" a fan favorite was drenched in a deep green light. It felt cinematic. Like the soundtrack to a sci-fi breakup. The audience sang every word. Voices nearly overwhelming Keery’s own. The real highlight, though, came during the extended guitar duel. Djo and his bandmate shredding side-by-side like cosmic cowboys. It was powerful, and just a little bit dangerous. "Charlie's Garden" and "Roddy" followed. The latter earned a thunderous response. “Roddy,” a track that lives in the liminal space between my own nostalgia and paranoia, hit just as hard live. Especially the breakdown at the end. It was layered, overwhelming, and totally immersive. The height of it all felt like being swallowed by the song.

The middle of the set moved through a beautiful mix of moods. "Gap Tooth Smile" and "Potion" brought more acoustic warmth. The first song gave a swirling melody that made the whole room feel like it was floating. "Delete Ya" was pure Djo. At least the imagery of him with his music in my own mind. Just funky, strange, captivating, and utterly danceable. The crowd bounced, caught in the spell of Keery’s charm. "Half Life" stole the show. The production was on another level entirely. The lights dimmed to near-darkness. Punctuated by flickers of blue and green, with sudden bursts of yellow and orange. The whole theater felt transformed into an underground club on a different planet. Keery drenched in shadows of neon. Pulling the audience into a hypnotic groove. 

The final stretch of the main set included "Listen", "Egg", and the emotional gut-punch of "End of Beginning." Nothing was short of magical. Fans lit up the room with phone flashlights. Swaying in sync. Singing back every word. It was the kind of shared moment that makes live music feel like a  holy experience. "Back on You" closed out the main set. The crowd wasn’t ready to say goodbye. They roared in hopes for an encore. When Djo returned for the encore, the roof nearly came off. There were hopes of one more song, but we were given two. Lucky us. 

"Chateau (Feel Alright)" , a standout from his debut album Twenty Twenty. The song performed live drifted a calmer excitement. Just before "Flash Mountain" was performed. Suddenly the energy was peaking into something sweaty and feral. The song was performed with members of Post Animal. Keery’s former psych-rock band. Who also toured with him on the first leg of the tour. Where their stop in Phoenix was also sold out at the Van Buren just months ago. It was a full-circle moment that brought the night to a fever pitch. Fuzzy guitars, screaming fans, and a frontman who looked genuinely overwhelmed by the love in the room.

Keery has carved out a musical persona that is wildly original. He’s a master of mood and a craftsman of sound. Seamlessly blending genres and aesthetics to create something wholly his own. The Another Bite Tour is a sensory journey. A celebration of artistic freedom. The show in Phoenix was certainly a show that lingers long after the last synth fades.