Live Review + Gallery | Djo @ O2 Forum, Kentish Town

Djo | Post Animal

O2 Forum, Kentish Town

5th June 2025

Photography by Izzy Reeve (@izzymayv)

Izzy Reeve

I’m a London-based music photographer and occasional writer and I love documenting gigs and people enjoying them. Having just moved back to London from Scotland, where I first started shooting concerts, I’m looking forward to exploring what the scene down south has to offer with CLUNK! From new acts to festivals, I love what clunk champions and I can’t wait to get started.

Joe Keery’s Djo proved he’s far more than a one-hit wonder at the first of 3 gigs at London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town

Kicking off the first of three nights in London with a bucketload of energy, Djo, musical alias of Joe Keery, told the crowd he was “grateful to have the opportunity to play with his best buds”, and it really showed. Despite being three quarters of the way through his epic Back On You world tour, the band showed no sign of weariness.

Thursday evening opened with Djo’s hometown pals Post Animal, who set the stage with a jam-packed show that got the crowd to boogie transporting us, for one night only, to Chicago. Heads were bopping, especially when they reunited with a former bandmate (none other than Joe Keery himself) for the closing three tracks. ‘When I Get Home’ and new track ‘Pie In The Sky’ were highlights, paving the way for a stellar evening.

Djo has solidified himself as a chart-topping pop star with sleeper hit ‘End of Beginning’, but it was his newer releases from his third album, ‘The Crux,‘ that had phones down and arms in the air. ‘Lonesome Is A State of Mind’, ‘Charlie’s Garden’ and the countdown of ‘Gap Tooth Smile’ made the O2 Kentish Town Forum floor shake, and the quieter moments of ‘Fly’ and debut album ‘Twenty Twenty‘ favourite ‘Chateau (Feel Alright)’ were soothing respites.

The encore of ‘Back On You’ and ‘Flash Mountain’ felt like a party when Post Animal returned the favour and joined the stage, bringing along a megaphone and performing impressive guitar-shredding breakdown chaos. It was far from lonesome to see the 10-piece collective celebrate their well-earned success. A gig that catered for longtime Djo fans and new, the Back On You tour showcased the best of Joe Keery’s pop-psychedelic musical explorations and the joyful relationship he has onstage with his collaborators and friends.