Slow Joy Simmered and Stewed at Off Broadway Friday Night

On those cold winter nights after a long work week, it’s hard to get off the comfy couch from under the cozy throw and head out to a concert of a band that you’re not too familiar with. At least it is for me. But, I’d told headliner Slow Joy’s rep that I’d be there, and at least, I try and honor my word. So off the couch, I bundled up and headed out into the below-freezing temps to South St. Louis City’s Off Broadway this Friday, February 21.

The night started with not one, but two openers that both hail from the region.

Alton-based Shareholder, formed in 2023, kicked the night off promptly at 8 p.m. to a decent-sized crowd. Their 30-minute set of originals included “Candlelight” and “The Depths.”

In an interview with The Alton Telegraph, Shareholder guitarist Brett Kutter (formerly with Distant Eyes) said, “The only general, underlying thing we’ve wanted to do from the start was make a fun, loud rock band.” We’d say they’ve succeeded as the majority of the songs performed encompassed a little grunge, a little garage, and a little banging it out and kicking it around. The rest of the members include guitarist Cameron Goewey and drummer Drew Robinson of 86 Red, bassist Tommy Tavolacci originally with Daisy Chain, and vocalist Ian Whitmore also from Distant Eyes.

Next up was a sublime 30-minute set from St. Louis’ Dialogue. They’ll tell you they’re emo and all about “sad songs, petting dogs, and drinking bad beer for the nostalgia” and if that’s how they create their songs then pet more dogs and drink more bad beer. All we know is the band consists of members Dan, Derek, Chris, and Matt and their sad songs are lovely, often filled with reverb, and are tinged with some dreamy, stream-of-consciousness sounds that this writer thinks lean into a gentler goth sound (without the looks so, maybe they are emo). Songs included “The Invisible Man” and “Cutthroat.”

The lights darkened before Dallas-based Esteban Flores, aka Slow Joy, and touring band members appeared on stage in the intimate room. On his first headlining tour, Slow Joy wasted no time dazzling the crowd of around 150 that included one couple who drove in from Florida (the original tour announced had been much smaller than the now 32 city Out Here Trying to Kick it With All the Homies this Year tour crisscrossing the US of A).

A little smokey haze hung close to the low stage lights as Flores and the touring band members allowed each song to simmer and grow, and eventually crescendo and arc. The set began with two songs that helped Slow Joy break into the market; the evocative, shoe-gaze, noisy “Crawling” and the spacey “Soft Slam.”

The touring band was not shy amping things up and presenting a dynamic show by traversing the stage, gently crashing into each other, and jumping off the bass drum on numerous occasions. The stage antics mixed with the powerful often noisy shoe-gaze, with some Pixies influence, created an energetic atmosphere that brought about an emotional twist to the songs performed during the 50-minute set.

Lesson learned yet again that more often than not, when you think you’d rather stay home it pays to head out that door for a night that slowly turned into joy.

This is one must-see concert for 2025 that is most likely coming to a city near you through mid-April. And if you can’t see it live, be sure to put this up-and-comer on your list of singers/songwriters/musicians to get to know.

See more photos from the concert: https://bit.ly/SlowJoy25cz