The Youth Yearn For Dance Music And JVB Have Successfully Provided Just That.
On September 25th,2025, Vancouver’s Vogue theatre became a sweaty dance club, full of all walks of life. The night began with an enthusiastic performance by AG Club. Members: Jody Fontaine and Baby Boy started their set by opening the pit and getting everyone to mosh.AG Club were great at getting the crowd amped up by jumping on the barricade and even taking pictures with fans mid-performance. Next on the stage was JVB’s personal hype man, DJ Ewook.He got the crowd jumping with songs ranging from "Promiscuous" by Nelly Furtado to “Rollin’” by Limp Bizkit. I could feel the temperature in the room start to rise as the crowd danced. His set finished, and the crowd was warm.
At the centre of the, sat a large, round object draped with a sheet to conceal it. The sheet was quickly pulled off to reveal a large disco ball with horns, resembling their newest album cover, “Hyperyouth”.Soon, the whole crowd was yelling “J-V-B” repeatedly. Until finally the title track of their newest album, “Hyperyouth,” started to play. This song starts with a chant for “JVB” as well, so the crowd quickly slipped into its tempo and chanted with the song. A light shone on the disco ball-shooting specs of light all around the room.
Joey Valence and Brae swiftly entered the stage and jumped onto their own metal platforms on either side of the stage. The energy in the room was electric. Everyone was jumping to the beat along with them. They were so entertaining to watch; they never stopped dancing and moving. I could feel the bass in my chest and the barricade shaking from the crowd. The whole set was none stop dancing and jumping from both the crowd and JVB. I was amazed by how much energy they had; I could see them sweating but never wavering in passion and liveliness. They were constantly running and dancing back and forth all over the stage. The duo never stopped smiling. I could tell that they were having a blast. With each song, the crowd grew more excited and even more sweaty. Everyone was dripping; there were points of the show where my arms were slipping and sliding along the barricade as the movement of the mosh pit swayed the crowd. Some fan favourites were “startafight”, “the baddest”, “see you dance”, “disco tomorrow”, and “punk tactics”.Every time I stopped to catch my breath and look around, I saw nothing but smiles from hundreds of sweaty, euphoric strangers. It felt like I was at a nightclub. Another highlight for me was after almost every song, DJ Ewook would play JVB’s Producer tag “JVB Sucka,” and he would occasionally slip in an audio clip of a fart. This never failed to make Joey and Brae laugh, as well as the crowd.
Halfway through the performance, they stopped to chat with the crowd. Joey Valence asked who in the room had come with their best friend, which was met with some cheers. Next he asked who had come alone, and this received a much louder response. He then said, “Well, if you came alone, I want you to look beside you and make a friend tonight”.Murmurs of people saying hello to the stranger beside them for the first time that night were heard all around the room. Now the crowd was acquainted with one another, and their song “Live right” began to play. The chorus of this song reads: “I’m kinda scared to admit I’m afraid of growing up, no one here wants to dance, things are changing, as long as I got my friends, as long as I got my friends, as long as I got my friends, don't want this shit to end”. Screaming those words hit harder after having everyone make a new friend in the crowd. The whole message throughout the show was to throw away all of your preconceived notions and have fun.
Their “Hyperyouth” album touches a lot on the subject of growing up and the constant push and pull of youth and adulthood. The line “I’m afraid of growing up, no one here wants to dance” especially rings true for me.
In a world where every second of your life is documented by either yourself or a stranger, I find people tend to hold back more, in fear of being seen as “cringe” or “embarrassing”.Not to mention all of the awful things happening every second of every day around the world. I notice the kids are starting to act older, dress older, and even look older. Kids are scared to be kids. The youth yearn for dance music and a safe space to express themselves, without fear of judgment- Joey Valence and Brae successfully provided that with their Hyperyouth tour.
I am an anxious person, and this was my first concert alone. I had never felt so comfortable being myself in a crowd of strangers in my life. Joey Valence and Brae managed to create such a safe environment by only ever being themselves. Throughout the whole concert, they were being one-hundred percent themselves, no egos, no judgements, just two best friends having a good time. Which in turn made the crowd feel safe to let go, be themselves, and have fun. The Hyperyouth tour was a truly freeing experience, and I highly recommend seeing it if you have the chance.
