Live music review: Broncho brought heat to Austin’s Empire Garage
A plethora of outdoor music venues make the Austin live music scene quintessential. This fact allowed the city to reopen venues faster the past year or so by not having as stringent COVID restrictions compared to indoor-only venues. It also means that, on a hot night like June 17, the Texas humidity was in full force at Empire Garage and Control Room. Although, there’s something about sweaty weather and hard rock that go hand in hand. The heat certainly didn’t deter the surprisingly packed crowd who came to see Broncho.
Labrys opened the night with the trio playing a set of slower, more contemplative songs. Led by Penny Pitchlynn, who takes on bass duties for Broncho, the band features a little less distortion and a little more variety than a Broncho set. Pitchlynn also boasts more poignant storytelling, like with the highlight, ‘Mary Moon’. The drums may be a slower BPM and occasionally sound like a drum machine, but the sparse fills actually allow Pitchlynn’s words to float for longer in the air.
Returning to the road for the first time in three years, Oklahoma’s Broncho came out swinging. Frontman Ryan Lindsey wore a baggy collared shirt and bangs that frequently fell over his eyes. Guitarist and vocalist Lindsey doesn’t care for a lot of banter or fanfare, just plowing through a slew of jams as they quickly paced through dozens of songs. You can check out their recent setlists to see how they frequently play up to 30 (!!) songs in one night.
Broncho started the night with ‘Try Me Out Sometime’, a consistent chord progression over two and a half minutes that set the stage for the night with Jagger-like yelps, a chorus full of drum fills, and a jangly guitar hook. Their output features a bit of new-wave, smoothed out punk, and sludgy bass grooves.
Lindsey opts for whoops and barks over descriptions using the English language. He vigorously bounces up and down during verses like he had four too many cups of coffee. It’s as if he’s trying to manifest extra vibrato in his voice via jiggling in place. At times, the smoke machines could have easily been steam from LIndsey’s body, emanating as a result of his constant bops and the record humidity.
‘What’ clocked in at just over two minutes. Lindsey stretches how many syllables it takes to pronounce ‘what’ (Answer: four). What the song may lack in raw energy, it makes up for in an infectious chorus. Lindsey’s gift for inserting hiccups, come-ons, yips and yoots into his songs with swagger and not silliness, is unmatched.
‘Get in My Car’s’ airy chorus begs to be blarred in your car, windows down, for a summertime ride.Lindsey’s banger about car sex is…just that. With lines like “I like to go fast/I like to go far” there’s not a lot of abstract imagery needed. But the deadpan bravado delivered by Lindsey just works somehow.
Some artists change for the sake of changing. Broncho’s figured out their formula. If you find a style, a producer, a guitar setup…why deviate? Chugging barr chords work. So do heavy hooks. Broncho proves that raw energy with pop sensibilities never go out of style.
If you like Broncho, check out: T. Rex, King Tuff, The Drums, Dehd, Methyl Ethel, Bass Drum of Death
All photos by Drew Doggett
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