#Live: PUP and Jeff Rosenstock let the dogs out in Detroit!
We spent our weekend hanging out with PUP and Jeff Rosenstock at the Russell Center in Detroit. The night kicked off with Ekko Astral, who got the crowd primed and ready for Jeff, who was ecstatic to see everyone. Jeff not only left an impression on us, but also on many of the kids who were front row to see him. Belting out every song lyric, the kids were in the right place at the right time. Of course, that meant this was their first time dealing with crowdsurfers. The crowd surfers at this show were on another level. Jeff even helped from the stage when a surfer lost a shoe.
PUP walked out with the only fitting song choice (If you said ”Who Let the Dogs Out" by Baha Men, you get a dog treat). Playing deep cuts and their latest album, one of our personal favorites, was actually when a guy in a wheelchair crowd surfed during Hallways. Frontman Stefan was cheering on the guy from the stage until he fell seconds later.
Right after PUP’s set was thought to have ended, the twist was revealed. As Stefan sang a solo acoustic number before Jeff and the bands would join them for a half-hour surprise session. Of course, they sang Get Dumber amongst others.
Toronto punk heroes PUP—comprised of Stefan Babcock, Nestor Chumak, Zack Mykula, and Steve Sladkowski—released their critically acclaimed new album Who Will Look After The Dogs? earlier this year to critical acclaim and numerous top 5 Billboard Chart positions across the U.S. and Canada. The band have already ripped through the UK/EU this Summer, and will kick off a major North American tour this Fall. But first, they swung by NPR to play a Tiny Desk Concert. The band performed an amazing Tiny Desk ( Home) in 2021, and this is their long-awaited, proper Tiny Desk. The set features songs Morbid Stuff highlights “Kids” and the title track, “Robot Writes A Love Song” from THE UNRAVELING OF PUPTHEBAND, and “Hallways” and “Hunger for Death” off of Who Will Look After The Dogs?
Reminder to call your dog sitter, because PUP will bring Who Will Look After The Dogs? on the road all year. The band just wrapped a run in the UK/EU, with Australia, New Zealand and of course North America up next. The North American run will be a co-headline tour with long-time friend and collaborator Jeff Rosenstock. See below to find a show near you, and get your tickets at puptheband.com.
And about those tickets…the bands say:
“We are offering low-income tickets for this tour! There will be a limited amount of tickets for every show available for $20 at the venue box office*. We know times are shit and hope this helps some people down to the ol' gig who wouldn't otherwise be able to! And we must admit, we completely stole this idea from Los Campesinos! who have been doing it for a while and encouraging other bands to offer this as well, so thank you Los Campesinos! for the inspiration.”
* Minneapolis, San Antonio, Austin and SLC venues do not have a box office. Please see band socials for alternate pickup locations.
TOUR DATES
9/9 - Columbus, OH - KEMBA Live! %
9/10 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre %
9/12 - Washington, DC - The Anthem %
9/13 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount % [SOLD OUT]
9/14 - Brooklyn, NY - Brooklyn Paramount %
9/15 - Boston, MA - Roadrunner %
9/17 - Philadelphia, PA - The Fillmore Philadelphia %
9/18 - Richmond, VA - The National &
9/19 - Raleigh, NC - The Ritz %
9/20 - Charlotte, NC - The Fillmore Charlotte %
9/22 - Atlanta, GA - The Eastern %
9/24 - Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall %
9/25 - Dallas, TX - House of Blues Dallas %
9/26 - San Antonio, TX - Paper Tiger %
9/27 - Austin, TX - Radio East %
9/30 - Phoenix, AZ - The Van Buren %
10/1 - San Diego, CA - The Sound %
10/2 - Los Angeles, CA - Hollywood Palladium %
10/3 - Sacramento, CA - Ace of Spades +
10/4 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater %
10/6 - Portland, OR - McMenamins Crystal Ballroom % [LOW TICKETS]
10/7 - Seattle, WA - Showbox SoDo % [LOW TICKETS]
10/8 - Boise, ID - Treefort Music Hall +
10/9 - Salt Lake City, UT - Rockwell at The Complex %
10/11 - Denver, CO - Mission Ballroom %
11/24 - Vancouver, BC - The Pearl * [SOLD OUT]
11/25 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom * [SOLD OUT]
11/26 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Ballroom *
11/28 - Edmonton, AB - Midway Music Hall *
11/29 - Calgary, AB - MacEwan Hall *
12/1 - Saskatoon, SK - Coors Event Theatre *
12/2 - Winnipeg, MB - Burton Cummings Theatre * [LOW TICKETS]
12/3 - Thunder Bay, ON - Thunder Bay Community Auditorium *
12/5 - Montreal, QC - Mtelus *
12/6 - Ottawa, ON - The Bronson * [SOLD OUT]
12/7 - Ottawa, ON - The Bronson *
12/9 - Waterloo, ON - Maxwell’s Concerts & Events * [LOW TICKETS]
12/11 - London, ON - London Music Hall *
12/12 - Oshawa, ON - Bond|St Event Centre *
12/3 - Hamilton, ON - Bridgeworks *[SOLD OUT]
^ with Model Home
# with Adult Friends
! With Teenage Joans
% co-headilne with Jeff Rosenstock, support from Ekko Astral
+ with Chase Petra
& with Ekko Astral
* with Snotty Nose Rez Kids
Who Will Look After The Dogs?, PUP’s pummeling and cathartic fifth LP, is their most immediate, no-frills, and hard-hitting full-length yet. It was made in Los Angeles with producer John Congleton over the course of three weeks, and it’s the culmination of PUP’s past decade of constant touring and their palpable, livewire chemistry. The album evokes the lightning-in-a-bottle intensity of their self-titled debut (except they are much better at their instruments now), and finds our self-deprecating frontman Stefan Babcock at his most reflective, vulnerable and prolific. Over 12 tracks, Babcock excavates his life's relationships—romantic, with his bandmates, and most ruthlessly, his relationship to himself. There’s plenty of growth, but also plenty of unpredictable mayhem in the arrangements and an acerbic bite in the writing. And while PUP historically are at one another’s throats during the album process, this time they scrapped their tedious perfectionism and rediscovered the joy of making loud music together.
“Within days of announcing our last album, coincidentally titled The Unraveling of PUPTHEBAND, my life unexpectedly imploded. I wrote the lyrics for 'Hallways' while all that was going on. It was a weird fucking week," says Babcock. "The title of our new record, Who Will Look After The Dogs?, is what I wrote at the top of the page, the very first thing written for this album. I think it’s devastating, but in a ‘holy shit this is overdramatic’ kinda way. At least in context of the line that comes before it. That’s what makes it funny to us. That overblown stuff we all say in our dark moments can be hilarious once you've cooled off a bit. I don’t know if anyone else thinks it’s funny, but sometimes you gotta laugh at yourself. It's the only way out of the abyss. Trust me.”
Who Will Look After The Dogs? Tracklist:
01 No Hope
02 Olive Garden
03 Concrete
04 Get Dumber
05 Hunger For Death
06 Needed To Hear It
07 Paranoid
08 Falling Outta Love
09 Hallways
10 Cruel
11 Best Revenge
12 Shut Up
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