Live music review: Borzoi “ruin” The Who’s Tommy

I’ve reeled it over and over in my mind in the past few days. What did I see and hear? Will I have the chance to watch it again? Hopefully someone recorded, and will release it. However, it’s become reality that in order to have witnessed this blessing of the stage, one would have had to have been in attendance.

Nestled nicely against a limestone cliff backdrop, sits one of Downtown Austin’s finest outdoor music venues, Cheer-Up Charlie’s.  The acoustics are powerfully clear and reverberate proudly up and down Red River Street. May 23, local punk band Borzoi, “ruin(ed) ‘Tommy’” by putting on a collaborative cover show commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the classic The Who rock opera.

This year, marks fifty years since the release of the Who’s ground-breaking album, Tommy. The album’s influence and cultural significance are profound.  Hearing the music live was an experience to behold, even, perhaps, while attempted to be “ruined” by local punk trio, Borzoi. By ruined we mean punked up in a way only Borzoi could conceive. Fans of various Austin punk bands, The Who, and just plain old, good live music were in for quite the treat last week. Borzoi performed all instrumentation (learned in six weeks) and hired vocalists from local indie groups to perform the punk-laden, classic rock experience.  

Evan Jones, of Dregs, and Austin rocker, Caleb De Casper, led the masterly ensemble. Audrey Campbell rendered strapping and compelling vocals as Sally Simpson. Witnessing this group of talented performers share the stage, belting out emphatically emotional melodies, which formulated an ever-poignant crescendo, further developed the magical mood established from the first note of the night.

The highly-recognizable melodies, conveyed through heavy, angst-filled punk tones, engaged the enthused, dazed crowd. The punk twist did wonders for the most recognizable classic work. The song, “Overture” alone was worth making it to Cheer Ups for the performance.  From “1921,” the line, “got a feeling 21 is going to be a good year…,” carried updated (obvious) connotation, and refrain echoed through the venue. Hardcore riffs strumming out, “Eyesight to the Blind” were spell-binding.

At one point, I recall taking a sip from my half-full tequila and soda double; it was warm and flat; the ice melted.  I turned to my wife, whose hair flew in all direction as she erratically banged her head to the music. The performance was so heavily engaging, I couldn’t bring myself to get another drink.  I refused to miss a second of the performance.

 As the show came to an end, I was struck with a heavy-hitting dose of reality; in an age in which we have access to pretty much anything imaginable within a few taps of the fingertips, this may not be attainable again.  Unless a videographer captured the entire show, or the audio becomes available online, this will be it. Perhaps Borzoi and the cast of musicians will but on this performance again. But it did not take long to understand that the continual thoughts I had during the performance, the “I can’t wait to watch this again” thoughts, would possibly not come to fruition.  You might have just had to have been there.

The Cast

Tommy-Caleb De Casper

Mrs. Walker-Evan Jones

The Pinball Wizard-Chris Nordali

The Acid Queen-Chase Jackson

The Doctor-Nolan Potter

Uncle Ernie-James Jennings

Uncle Bernie-Kevin Sampaio

Sally Simpson-Audrey Campbell

The Hawker-Scoot Medmer

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