Post Animal played at Jonny Brenda’s in Philadelphia on November 5th, 2025. The Slaps were their opener, the same opener that Finn Wolfhard had for his first tour. I couldn’t find an official name for the tour, but I think the whole premise was to keep their name fresh in people’s minds after they had opened for Djo all year. As any opening act hopes for, people hear your music, they like it, they hear your doing your own tour after this, and they buy a ticket to see your own headlining tour. A majority of the shows for the tour sold out, so they were pretty successful in getting their name out there.
Post Animal has been around since 2014, with the members of the band changing occasionally. As of now, the band consists of Wesley Toledo, Javi Reyes, Jake Hirshland, Matt Williams, and Dalton Allison. Joe Keery has sort of drifted in and out of the band, he was a part of the making of their most recent album IRON, but I don’t think he would be considered an official member of the band right now. They all met while in Chicago and are considered a Chicago based band.
There are many perks to seeing a small band in a small venue. One of them being, you can get front row without having to camp out days prior. I got there about 2 hours before doors opened, I got to the area a little earlier then expected. There were already about 4 other girls waiting in line. I joined them and had a nice comfortable seat on the cement ramp leading into the venue. The guys from the band actually came out while we were all waiting and had dinner on the picnic benches just across from us. It was kind of funny and awkward all at the same time. I’m sitting there waiting in line to see you play later, and also casually glancing over to see you eat right across from me. Like I said, the perks of a small venue! Everyone in line was pretty respectful and didn’t go up to nag them at any point, at least that I saw.
This show was 21+ thankfully, so there were no shouts of “Where’s Joe?” or “What happens to Steve in Stranger Things?”. I’m not ashamed to admit I found Djo’s music from Stranger Things, and in turn found out about Post Animal through him. However, you do have to respect the fact that they are all separate entities. They are connected but also not, you just have to enjoy each creative project as their own thing.
The Slaps… were The Slaps. I just got some off vibes from them, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. I left feeling the same way about them after hearing them open for Finn too. Their set sounded good, but they made some odd comments between each song. Right after they finished a song, one of the guys asks “Who here has had sex before?”. It was a bit of an odd thing to ask a crowd full of mostly women. Mind you, it did not relate to the last song they had just played or were going to play next. One or two people shouted in the back, but it was otherwise silent. It was a little weird but nothing to fully make me uninterested in their music.
Until, another one of the guys asked “Anyone a Stranger Things fan?” There were a couple shouts from the back, but an otherwise quite crowd. Most people were there to see Post Animal and enjoy the music that they’ve created. At this point you may be thinking I’m the up tight one for thinking those questions were odd, well wait until you hear what they had to say about Philly.
After the crowd started chanting for the Eagles, one of the guys flat out booed and said it’s a trashy city. He spoke about how the people are great, but the city smells and there is trash everywhere. Is it a dirty city? Sure, but so is New York! For the sake of his safety, I will refrain from revealing which one of the guys said it. His comments were quickly drowned out by the crowd shouting the Eagles again, myself included. The people in the city of Philadelphia bleed green, we love our team and will show it at any moment we get (Even if they suck, it’s a native thing). Were very expressive in that department. I don’t know how many shows I’ve been to in Philly now where at some point during the set, the Eagles chant is heard and the musical artists are cheerfully surprised by it. It may have been a playful interaction but all of these combined together, left me with a bad opinion of the band.
Once Post Animal finally hit the stage, all concerns left with The Slaps out the back door. They were so loud and interactive with the crowd, such an incredible experience. Their setlist consisted of Dirtpicker, Dorien Kregg, Raplhie, Setting Sun, Pie in the Sky, Maybe You Have To, and a bunch more. At larger venues there’s usually space between the crowd and the stage, but at Jonny Brenda’s you are right there in front of them. It’s a little daunting at first being that close to them. They crouch down to grab a cord on the floor of the stage and you are face to face with them. But once the buzz from the alcohol starts to hit and they begin their set, all internal thoughts start to fade away.
Dorien Kregg is Dalton’s moment to shine. He sings the vocals for it and puts on this rich man facade while singing. If you listen to the lyrics it’s about this guy making his way to the top, looking down on everyone else around him, but once he’s there, he realizes it’s not it’s chalked up to be. A.K.A Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerburg, and a bunch of other bozos like them. During the show, Dalton jumped down from the stage and was dancing around in the crowd with us. It was so much fun jumping up and down, shouting the lyrics along with him and all the other fans. Those are the moments that I look for in live music. I remember them so vividly and the feelings that surround moments like that.
That wasn’t it either. Javi came out into the crowd during the last song and played the guitar in the middle of the crowd. He was bouncing around while playing, bumping into people. But then stopped right in the middle of the crowd and slowly started to descend to the floor. Before you knew it he was straight up laying on the ground, playing the guitar. The entire crowd surrounded him, looking down to watch him play the guitar while laying out on the floor like a starfish, looking up to the ceiling. I was right by his head wearing a skirt (of all times to wear a damn skirt!), but luckily it was a midi skirt so there was no way he saw anything! But I definitely got a little worried and stepped back ever so slightly to be sure of it.
Anyone remember the mannequin challenge from about 10 years ago now? Well at one point during the set, the whole band took the creative liberty to stand there for a good two minutes, like mannequins. And then started the next song like nothing happened. I would’ve loved to see more of Wes playing the drums throughout the set. However, Javi was right in my line of view so i didn’t see him all that much unless I was willing to give up my view at the front.
It was honestly such a great show filled with some incredible music and fun experiences. The show ended around 11 p.m. I saw after the fact on social media that the guys were outside the venue talking to fans. I was kicking myself that I didn’t stick around after, but my day job required me to get home and get some sleep before I had to be up in a few hours. A band that is interactive with the crowd is so important to the impression they leave on the fans. You want to leave a good impression on them so you earn more listeners, which in turn earns you more money. It’s really that simple, not sure how The Slaps were able to stray so far away from that.
Post Animal isn’t currently on tour and does not have plans to tour again soon, but one can only hope. They truly are a great band that deserves more recognition for their psychedelic rock sound. Download their music for your next road trip and dive into the world of this weirdly cool band from Chicago.
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