Jo Passed, Maneka and Powerhouse of the cell
Johnny Brenda's
1201 Frankford Ave.
Philadelphia
August 18, 2026
Singer-songwriter and guitarist Jo Hirabayashi’s latest album, Away, was the result of eight long years of creation and gestation. His debut — 2018’s Their Prime — was a gorgeous record that deftly combined post-punk, grunge and power-pop with Beatlesque pop-psychedelia. Following a label change, the COVID pandemic, and his own personal mental health struggles, Hirabayashi's Away is as musically rich and assured as it is emotionally vulnerable. On Tuesday night, August 18, Jo Passed pulled up to Johnny Brenda’s with support from Maneka and Powerhouse of the cell.
Powerhouse of the cell were first up, and they packed the small stage at Johnny Brenda’s with a battery of synthesizers, guitars and three televisions. At the start of the set, a disjointed voice introduced the band and announced that the theme of the night was deforestation. From there they jumped into a driving post-punk tune with a rigid, mechanical beat. “Operation” stood out with its ominous vocals and bassline. The visual component was strong as the trippy footage of wildlife, medical imagery and shopping playing on the screens often aligned with the theme character of the songs.
Next up was guitarist, and singer-songwriter Devin McKnight’s project Maneka. Since debuting in 2017, Maneka has been a vehicle for McKnights sonically dense, noisy indie-rock songs. When McKnight and his band started the set with “Zipline,” they bathed the small room at Johnny Brenda’s in layered distorted guitars. On Maneka’s studio recordings, McKnight’s voice shines but here, his delivery is loosened, slowed to a drawl and buried beneath a wall of guitars. I couldn’t catch the title of the second tune but it pushed things into uptempo territory with an explosive chorus followed by Devin’s furious solo. The weight and complexity of Maneka’s songs were striking physically and emotionally.
Jo Passed followed Maneka with a tight and evocative set of songs. They opened with “BRB,” the stunning first track from Away. Based around a midtempo, oddly timed groove and guitar part that shifts between hopeful and pensive, Hirabayashi pays it all off with a bold chorus that feels like a gust of fresh air. “Alright,” with its punky drums and swooning vocals, and the warbling pop-funk jam “Ico” were other standouts in the set. On this three-headed beast of a bill, Jo Passed closed out the evening perfectly. The disparate sounds and approaches of each band kept things interesting and the emotion and creativity within those approaches kept things true.
