Review: Joey Valance & Brae at Metro City
Joey Valance & Brae at Metro City
Wednesday, April 22, 2026
There’s music that you choose, and then there’s music that chooses you.
Joey Valance & Brae create the kind of music that grabs you somewhere deep in your nostalgia catalogue before you can even work out why. Hip hop, punk, UK grit, US swagger, a slight Brockhampton soul and an uncanny ability to sample the old in fresh, irreverent ways—they don’t ask for your attention; they just take it. So when Perth was on the tour itinerary, you knew it was not one to miss.
A long-time favourite, Metro City’s overhanging balconies and multi-layered tiers create a unique, reverse amphitheatre energy where you’re practically hovering over the artist for a weird, intimate, and oddly electric experience. The crowd delivered on looks as well, with a sea of brightly coloured dyed hair and mega-gelled “liberty spike” hairdos scattered throughout the room.
Before the main event, though, we had Ewook, opening with what can only be described as 2017 dubstep-era throwbacks and the kind of cringe American EDM that makes you feel like you’re waiting for a sporting event to start. This hype man threw in a Lady Gaga remix, I Love It by Icona Pop, and tried to rally us to “turn this club into a mosh pit”, giving a level of outdated, overplayed cheese. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but the hoodie-panda visuals (AI slop?) gave us something to stare at.
Then Joey Valance & Brae came out.
One with pink hair and a Globetrotters jersey, the other in black baggy cargos; and a giant horned smiley disco ball filled the stage, giving semi-Marshmello vibes. But the opening echo of Dance…Bounce from Hyperyouth picked up the energy immediately. There were times it felt like we were in the rap battle club scene in 8 Mile but also with a punk rock edge.
There was an attempt to open a death pit, paired with some mosh and hardcore dancing from the boys to Hooligang, but the pit just felt a bit cute. With this genre and this crowd it landed more as a fun idea than a genuine moment of chaos, but they’re due credit for trying, and Joey’s reveal of a Tenacious D t-shirt did bring a bit more cred back to the fray.
When OK hit, it dragged up some of those Run DMC feels before its Jersey club interlude ran into a Missy Elliott Lose Control / Go Hard remix that kept the energy upppp. Cooling us off with Is This Love, it gave the room a breather with a dreamy electronic feel, and Live Right had everyone singing along to “As long as I’ve got my friends.”
All of their energy, sparkle and entertainment aside, there were moments you couldn’t help but want more. Something live, something instrumental… a bit more musicianship from the boys beyond the banter and the bars? Whereas seasoned pros like Sean Paul can hold a room in the palm of his hand with just a mic, maybe there’s a production gap that’s just part of being up-and-comers, and that’s okay. Maybe it needed pyro, better visuals, or some anecdotes to fill the spaces between hype, but sometimes you need more than bangers to sustain a full set. One punter described it as ‘EDM-laced Beastie Boys rip-offs for millennials, but not in a bad way’, but to be fair, that could be softened to ‘nostalgically persuaded’—there’s a difference between being derivative and knowing your lineage, and JVB clearly know theirs.
Finishing on punk tactics, they pulled the classic encore disappearing act before coming back out with fan fave The Baddest. They closed with the sparkly Disco Tomorrow, shouting out Perth for “finally finding their spark”, and the room erupted in that collective warmth that reminds you why live music still matters. It felt like Kanye’s Celebration, that singular moment of joy where everyone’s on the same page. Perth loved them back, and they felt it.
So to JVB—we loved you. Come back and show off your musical prowess and a few more tricks up your sleeve, and we’ll be here waiting to Dance and Bounce.
MIA CAMPBELL-FOULKES
Photos by Stu McKay
