When Joe Keery became Djo in 2019, we were introduced to sunglasses and a wig. This was his trademark, his band’s uniform for performances, the alternate persona he adopted in his solo music venture. It created a clean slate for Keery, separating the Joe most know from “Stranger Things” from the Djo people would come to know through his music. 

Fans have grown accustomed to the enigmatic air that follows Djo, a trail of mystery that began with his obscured identity and continues through the whimsical pastiche of backlot imagery that accompanied the release of his newest album, “The Crux.” 

It feels like a piece of Djo’s mysticism has unfurled with each release. With “The Crux,” the curtain bangs have been drawn. The wig is in the past as the audience is reintroduced to Keery through this alternate, exposed lens. It feels bright — his most honest, forthright record yet. This sentiment takes on new meaning when it comes to life on stage, a marvel that hundreds were lucky to witness in Pomona on Tuesday.

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The Back On You Tour is Djo’s longest run of headlining shows yet, bringing him back to California for the first time since 2022. Fans flanked the venue, bubbling over with years of aggregated anticipation. As the sun set over the Fox Theater, asphalt lit by a buzzing marquee, the audience was welcomed by the aura of “The Crux.” The Art Deco architecture, the towering neon sign — it felt like a scene ripped straight from the album’s centerfold.   

A glistening synthetic hum welled from the speakers as opening act Post Animal took the stage, a Chicago-based psych-rock group Keery used to be a part of. Throughout the performance, band members ebbed between tides of slow psychedelic jams and energetic rock odysseys. This dynamic current has come to define their sound, from the sentimental strum of their latest single, “Last Goodbye,” to the uplifting thrill of “Gelatin Mode.”

The band had an unwavering euphony, bewitching the room with their four-part vocal harmonies and symphonic instrumentals. It’s a perk that comes with 11 years of performing with your best friends, this unspoken synchronicity, a tacit energy that flows between the members and their instruments. 

Keery grabbed a guitar and joined the group for a heart-warming rendition of “When I Get Home,” ending with a palpitation-inducing grand finale in “Dirtpicker.” As per the band’s recent announcement, Keery will return as Post Animal’s sixth member on their upcoming album, “Iron.”

Still reeling from Post Animal’s exhilarating departure, the room quickly filled with bellows of fog. The lights dimmed as a familiar rhythm washed over the crowd. It was the extended introduction to “Runner,” the opening track to Djo’s second album, “DECIDE.” Stage lights panned with the swelling tones as each of Keery’s six backing band members appeared before the crowd. And then came Djo, through this undulating electronic entrance into his cosmic middle ground.

An immediate transition into “Gloom” sent the crowd into a bass-driven funk frenzy, a get-on-your-feet feeling Djo would uphold through “Link” and “Lonesome Is A State of Mind.” As he bobbed about the stage during “Basic Being Basic,” there was an unmistakable sense of pride in the way he looked over the audience, the way he joked with his bandmates. It was a look that would only grow more tender, and a grin that would only grow wider, as the show went on. 

Wig-era highlights were woven into the “Crux”-heavy setlist, guiding the audience between computerized grooves and airy acoustics on a rolling journey through Djo’s discography. “Fly” and “Roddy” offered a slow-moving sentimental pause before the dance-break was reinvigorated by “Fool,” followed by a foray into Paul McCartney whimsy with “Charlie’s Garden.” 

A punchy performance of “Gap Tooth Smile” made one thing very clear: Djo is a frontman. He’s got the look, the Jagger-Springsteen mannerisms with none of the haughty overconfidence. On stage, Djo is as much a seven-piece unit as it is Keery. 

Toward the middle of the set, something in the air shifted. There was a pause, like the tuning of an orchestra, an overture that ushered in the opening “Oh my God” to Djo’s second single, “Chateau (Feel Alright).” It quickly became clear that this wasn’t the “Chateau” audience members knew, but a smoother, pared-down waltz that, according to Keery, made the place feel like “under-the-sea prom.” For the next few songs, Djo kept concertgoers in this liminal space, held in reflective suspension as the show drew to a close. 

For his last song, he treated many to what they had been waiting for: the recently viral “End of Beginning.” The theater echoed with the harmony of thousands as every voice in the sold-out theater bellowed the ethereal ballad. The song is about nostalgia, but Djo’s performance built the kind of moment that forced audience members to be present, to bask in the beauty of the here and now. 

Shaking the walls with “We Will Rock You”-level stomps, claps and screams, the insatiable crowd beckoned Djo back for an encore. After the affectionate exuberance of “Back On You,” Djo ended the night with the gift of emotional and physical whiplash, bringing out Post Animal for an amp-busting performance of “Flash Mountain.”

There’s nothing quite like watching someone do what they love, surrounded by people they love. Nothing compares to the feeling that emanated from the stage during that final song, nor the smiles on the bands’ faces. It’s an unfiltered authenticity you can only get live, peeling back the layers, even just for a night, to catch a glimpse of all the “Joe” in Djo.