Joesef is back on his Scottish home turf to close the UK tour for the new album Permanent Damage, which he released at the beginning of 2023. It is so clear that Scotland and its people are woven into the very fabric of Joesef’s music and lyricism and that he himself feels a part of this audience. Proclaiming “no one does it quite like we do”, Joesef gives us exactly what we’re all here for: his beautifully dulcet tones, an incredible 5-piece band, and of course – who could forget – his groovy dancing hips.
Joesef begins with some of his newer music, opening the set with the album’s namesake: ‘Permanent Damage’, followed by the most-played hit, ‘It’s Been a Little Heavy Lately’. These are songs about heartbreak, but sung and told in a new way which doesn’t feel at all cliché; in fact, they’re unpredictably optimistic and soulful. This is pop but done differently. This might be down to the fact that Joesef uses multiple instruments to create this textured, indie/alternative sound. Or rather, it might be the result of Joesef’s unique vocal tone, which is incomparable to any other artist currently in the scene. It has texture and warmth, and he sings in such a way that forces you to really listen to his lyrics – hear them, participate in them, feel them. He feels each syllable, and each breath is a memory.
Mixed into the set-list are also some of Joesef’s earlier tunes from his 2020 EP Does It Make You Feel Good? Amongst these is ‘Think That I Don’t Need Your Love’, by the end of which the venue is genuinely bouncing, ringing out with applause. It’s euphoric – people are even stamping their feet, copying the lead guitarist, in an effort to make their applause even louder. But then, amidst the cheers, Joesef holds his hands up, does a little bow and walks abruptly off stage. Everyone looks around, wondering where he’s gone – surely that’s not the end of the gig.
But eventually, Joesef comes running cheekily back, and the crowd roars in delight as he darts up and down the middle of the stage, holding a half-empty plastic cup of beer on his head. He’s alone, though, without the rest of his band. He picks up an acoustic guitar and plays the first chord for ‘Comedown’, and the crowd murmurs quietly in delight. But this is one of those rare songs where an audience knows better than to sing along with the lyrics. Everyone stands in plain awe, listening and watching silently. We simply mouth the words to a song which captivatingly breaks all of our hearts.
Joesef also plays another song from his earlier album, ‘The Sun Is Up Forever’. Before he starts playing, Joesef divulges, “It was just me, my mum and my brothers growing up. My dad was very abusive… he’s dead now. I had a long conversation with my mum about it, and she said that now he’s gone, the sun is up forever”. Even without this context, the lyrics are incredibly profound. But now the words feel different – heavier – in our mouths as we sing, “Don’t want you to hold me, console me, control me”. This is the true and raw genius of Joesef’s lyricism and his vulnerability as a performer.
At the end of ‘All Good’, Joesef dashes off the stage once again, but this time the crowd cheers and whoops, confident that there will be “one more tune!” – the classic Scottish chant at the end of all good gigs. Joesef does not disappoint, and in fact, he gives us three more tunes.
The first song of this triple encore is ‘Loverboy’. Joesef tells the audience that at the song’s chorus, they all have to call out “Loverboy” as loud as they can. “Leeds was the loudest so far, you’ve gotta beat that”, he teases in his soft Glaswegian lilt. So, desperate to impress the loverboy himself, the audience screeched “loverboy” over and over, louder each time. The atmosphere is unparalleled.
The final show of the entire evening is ‘Joe’, again from the new album. A song named after the artist – you’d think it would reek of narcissism. But, as the audience sings out, “Joe, Joe, Joe / Don’t you ever leave”, Joesef’s coy and humble smile makes it anything but. It is actually an incredibly raw and personal moment because it becomes quite clear that, just like how he quoted his mum saying, “the sun is up forever”, the words “’cause you’re nothing without me” in ‘Joe’ are most likely recalled from the actual ex-loverboys of Joesef’s past. And so, as we sing these words to him, he heals.
But this crowd wants more. Videos of Joesef jumping into the crowd during this closing number have been plastered across TikTok and Instagram from earlier dates and locations in Joesef’s tour, so there is an increasing anticipatory buzz brewing amongst the audience now, wondering –fingers crossed – if he really does do that at every gig. He does. He quickly detaches his microphone and launches himself off the right side of the stage as “Joe, Joe, Joe” vibrates throughout the venue. The crowd is buzzing – everyone is bouncing up and down, hands in the air, pushing themselves towards Joesef in the distance like he’s a magnet. The people closest around him lift him up, and at the final call of “Joe”, he drops his neck back, opens his arm out wide and looks up, taking this all in. It’s magic. So, to whoever it was that broke Joesef’s heart: I love and hate you in equal measure.
Image courtesy of Eliza Light