It’s been a rough year and it’s only mid-March, but you know the saying, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going,’ and on Friday night the tough let off some steam at a sold-out set with one of the best line-ups I’ve seen in ages. 

Torrance, California punk stalwarts Joyce Manor brought a punk rock party to the Nevermore Hall along with fellow Californians Militarie Gun along with Teen Mortgage and Combat. 

Bills with multiple bands can be a hit-or-miss affair, but the energy this night was different. The lines to get into the venue stretched out of the place an hour before doors. This could be due, in part, to two up and coming local bands – Teen Mortgage (actually from DC) and Combat – being part of this tour.  The strange thing is I had seen Joyce Manor before but the other bands I hadn’t seen before (though not for lack of trying), so I, too, was more than stoked for the show.

Combat took the stage first with incredible energy. The Baltimore band has been making waves with their melodic brand of punk. I was especially heartened by the Superchunk shirt singer Holden Wolf was sporting. I definitely caught some hints of the Chapel Hill legends (and one of my all-time favorites) in Combat’s set. 

It’s rare to see crowd surfers start during an opening band (at least in my experience), but by the time the doors opened and Combat started the place was packed and it wasn’t long before one after another glided atop the mass of concert goers to the barricade. And things didn’t let up as the second band, DC’s own sonic duo Teen Mortgage, kept that intensity going. 

Militarie Gun, a band that mixes elements of hardcore punk with a great sense of melody, took the stage next and quickly went to work highlighting a good chunk of their sophomore full-length, God Save the Gun, released at the tail end of last year.

Singer, Ian Shelton commanded the stage and instantly got the crowd singing along. And the band was incredibly tight. Although they’ve only released a couple of LPs, I can’t help but think Militarie Gun’s frequent touring schedule has honed this outfit into an incredible live force.

The band often incorporates a cover here and there and the Nevermore show was no exception as they played The Strokes’ “You Only Live Once.”

And if that wasn’t enough rock to satisfy the masses, Joyce Manor took the stage in style to the theme of the Goosebumps TV show (having a daughter who only watched Goosebumps for the better part of two years, the tune has been hopelessly stuck in my brain).

Joyce Manor has been around for a while now, long enough for their third album, Never Hungover Again (2014), to be considered a classic. Twelve years after that album, I think they’ve done it again with some of their strongest material to date.

They started off their set with perhaps the catchiest songs on the new record, “I Know Where Mark Chen Lives,” with that infectious refrain, Train coming down the track / It almost gave me a heart attack. Coming in at under two minutes, the song acted like a rush of adrenaline before the next song, fan-favorite “Falling In Love Again” started.

Joyce Manor are known for packing in a lot into a short bit of time, and most of the set was devoted to newer songs like “I Used to Go To This Bar” and one of my favorite from the new record, “All My Friends Are So Depressed.” But a good chunk of the set was from Never Hungover Again and their self-titled debut as fans seemed to sing every word to “Beach Community” and “Constant Headache.” In fact, the entire night seemed like a great big sing-a-long (but with a ton more crowd surfing).

Saving some of their best for the second half of the set, Joyce Manor hit on favorites like “All My Friends…,” the aforementioned “Constant Headache,” “Catalina Fight Song,” and wrapped the regular set with “Falling Into It” from the new record.

They came back to encore with “Orange Julius,” definitely the punkiest song of the night, and “Five Beer Plan.” Joyce Manor continue their tour through the US through the summer. With a line-up this good, it’s hard to pass up.

The setlist included:

I Know Where Mark Chen Lives
Falling in Love Again
Beach Community
Heart Tattoo
Grey Guitar
Eighteen
I Used to Go to This Bar
Last You Heard of Me
NBTSA
Big Lie
The Opossum
Well, Don’t It Seem Like You’ve Been Here Before?
Christmas Card
All My Friends Are So Depressed
House Warning Party
Schley
Constant Headache
Leather Jacket
Catalina Fight Song
Falling Into It

Encore:
Orange Julius
Well, Whatever It Was
Five Beer Plan

Check out more photos of Joyce Manor at the Nevermore Hall on Friday, March 20, 2026. All photos are copyright David LaMason:

Check out more photos of Militarie Gun at the Nevermore Hall:

Check out more photos of Teen Mortgage at the Nevermore Hall:

Check out more photos of Combat at the Nevermore Hall: