PUP + Jeff Rosenstock: A CATACLYSMIC RAPTURE OF FRIENDSHIPNESS!!! live at Crystal Ballroom, October 6th, 2025
Despite it being the last few days of a five week long tour, the energy was high at Crystal Ballroom on Oct. 6th. PUP and Jeff Rosenstock showed no signs of fatigue as they entered the final stretch of their co-headlining tour, entitled “A CATACLYSMIC RAPTURE OF FRIENDSHIPNESS!!!” And a cataclysmic rapture of friendshipness it was — by the end of the night they had the entirety of three bands on stage for an encore cover of Alanis Morrisette’s “You Oughta Know” with PUP, Jeff Rosenstock and his backing band, and opener Ekko Astral co-performing the song. Based on my experience going to shows at the Crystal Ballroom, this may have been the most bands to ever share the venue’s small corner stage at once.
The friendship between everyone on tour was evident. Prior to Ekko Astral joining on stage for the last song, Jeff Rosenstock and PUP co-performed for their encore set, with PUP and Jeff Rosenstock covering two Jeff Rosenstock songs and co-performing the song PUP and Jeff Rosenstock collaborated on, “Get Dumber”, from PUP’s latest album Who Will Look After The Dogs?, as well as “Reservoir” from PUP’s debut self-titled album. The two artists fed off each other’s energy, and at one point, both Rosenstock and PUP vocalist Stefan Babcock ran out into the crowd and crowdsurfed back to the stage.
“What could be better than two lead singers crowdsurfing?” Babcock told the audience afterward, shortly before bringing Ekko Astral out on stage for the finale.
Babcock and Rosenstock certainly weren’t the only crowdsurfers of the evening. The crowdsurfing started early in Rosenstock’s set, and from then on there was a consistent flow of surfers throughout the evening, with both the all-ages side of the venue and the 21+ bar side seeing heavy crowdsurfing— something not too common with the way Crystal Ballroom splits the venue diagonally for all ages shows. Babcock and Rosenstock took full advantage of the diagonal divider, however, utilizing the pathway through the crowd to run out and greet the enthusiastic audience during the show. Throughout both Rosenstock and PUP’s set the crowd was wildly energetic. The famed spring-loaded floor of the Crystal Ballroom bounced with each jump. Thanks to the construction of the floating dance floor, the sold out room was, quite literally, rocking.
Rosenstock played a variety of works from his diverse discography, including the catchy ska anthem “SKrAm!” from SKA DREAM, the relatable pop punk tune “LIKED U BETTER” from HELLMODE, and of course, “Nausea” and “You, In Weird Cities” from his debut solo album We Cool?, the latter of which he closed his 19-song set with.
PUP’s 11 song pre-double band encore set favored their new album, Who Will Look After The Dogs?, with four songs from the album on top of the encore performance of “Get Dumber” with Jeff Rosenstock. They of course made sure to include popular favorites such as “Kids” from Morbid Stuff and “DVP” and “If This Tour Doesn’t Kill You, I Will” from 2016’s The Dream Is Over, the latter was preceded by Babcock recounting the story of the year of touring that inspired the song, a year in which the band played 250 shows and tensions arose amongst the group. Despite its dark lyrics, it was played in a light and humorous fashion, proving that the friendship amongst band members has withstood the test of rigorous touring.
The supporting act Ekko Astral, a punk band from Washington D.C., were new friends on this tour, and this show was, in fact, their first time playing Portland. After their angsty noise punk set, something tells me it won’t be their last time in Portland, either. Ekko Astral played an unreleased song, influenced by their experience living in D.C. “about how late stage capitalism can’t solve it all,” which resonated with the Portland audience.
The band praised the headlining acts that had taken them out on tour, saying they’d looked up to both PUP and Jeff Rosenstock for a long time. The respect was clearly mutual as well, as seen at the end of show when they joined Death Rosentock and PUP on stage for a three-band finale performance in which they covered Alanis Morisette’s “You Oughtta Know” together, all of them collapsing on the stage in a combination of exhaustion and glee after the final note.
