PUP & More!

Radio/East has been hosting shows for a little under a year old, but Saturday night it felt like the center of Austin. The Levitation night show with PUP, Jeff Rosenstock, and Ekko Astral wasn’t just another festival afterthought. It showed why punk is necessary and why community is necessary.

Ekko Astral wasted no time. Mid-set, Jae told the crowd to split down the middle. When the song kicked in, both sides slammed into each other, sending a wall of dust into the air. Between songs, Jae urged the room to take care of each other, support trans rights, and demand better from Texas. It felt like an extension of Liberation Weekend, the event they organized back in D.C. for trans rights. Their music was furious, but the message was clear: this space belongs to everyone.

Jeff Rosenstock turned the venue into a basement show. He opened with his now fairly well known rules: no creeps, respect each other, and keep it safe. Older Bomb the Music Industry! fans yelled every word, while teenagers with Xs on their hands threw themselves into the pit. That mix of generations defined the night, and Rosenstock held it together with the ease of someone who has lived in DIY for decades.

PUP walked out to “Who Let the Dogs Out” before launching into “No Hope.” Their new album Who Will Look After the Dogs?, released in May on Little Dipper and Rise Records, has been described as less chaotic and more reflective. John Congleton’s production gave it sharp edges and control. On stage those edges frayed, and the songs took on a more familiar PUP edge albeit a bit more reserved. That was up until Rosenstock’s bassist John Dedomenici joined them for “Paranoid,” Stefan Babcock pushed the moment into pure confrontation, turning a polished track into a burst of raw noise.

Midway through the set, Babcock paused and echoed a now familiar message. Protect women’s rights. Protect trans rights. Call what is happening in Palestine a genocide. Then he turned his fire on Greg Abbott as the crowd erupted. He smirked and said, “Anyway, this song is about my friends,” before the band tore into “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You.” The shift from politics to absurdity didn’t kill the mood. It underlined what makes PUP work: sincerity without pretense.

They closed with “Shut Up,” but the crowd wasn’t finished.

PUP and Rosenstock’s band stormed back together for four songs with their combined “Double Band”. The temporary “supergroup” went into “Hey Allison!,” “Get Dumber,” “We Begged 2 Explode,” and “Reservoir.” It was reckless and chaotic but the crowd was enthralled. Then the crowd started chanting “Triple Band.” Ekko Astral rejoined and all three bands ripped into Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know.” Again, a bit chaotic and unhinged, but the chaos was cathartic. 

The night was never about precision; It was about necessity. Punk is not a relic of a bygone era. It continues to be a space where politics sit at the center, where kids and veterans scream the same songs, and where community is the point. PUP, Rosenstock, and Ekko Astral continue pushing the next wave of loud and unapologetic DIY ethos. 

At Radio/East, it all came together. Three bands. One bill. Dust in the air. Punk not as survival, but as necessity

Words and photos: Victor Gonzalez