Live Music Review: Conan Bulldozes Far Out Lounge, Texas Heat Be Damned
Liverpool’s musical legacy usually starts and stops at four guys with mop-tops and a red-brick basement studio. Doom metal trio Conan has other ideas. Self-branded purveyors of “Caveman Battle Doom,” the UK three-piece brought bone-crushing riffs and eardrum-punishing volume to Far Out Lounge and Stage on July 21. The show was yet another marker in the doom scene the South Austin venue has built since tapping Lick of My Spoon Productions as its go-to heavy booker back at 2022’s inaugural Ripplefest.
Late July is a tough sell for sitting outside with friends, beer in hand, to watch a packed metal show. We’ve griped about Texas heat plenty in this space, but for live music lovers around here, hibernation season has officially arrived: triple-digit highs and bloodthirsty bugs collecting their toll clear through early October. Still, bands from across the pond keep coming through Austin, and we’ve got a job to do, both as fans and as reporters.
Conan has been at this for two decades now. With a stack of studio albums and countless road miles behind them, the trio brings maximum intensity regardless of the weather. The sun was finally dipping by their 8:30 p.m. set time, offering a small mercy before the aural onslaught began. A brief hello from the stage was all it took. The crowd roared back, welcoming the riff-slingers the only way Austin knows how.
Founding frontman and guitarist Jon Davis has cycled through plenty of lineups over the years, but the brutality hasn’t let up one bit. The current roster rounds out with bassist David Ryley (ex-Fudge Tunnel) and drummer Johnny King, both carrying Davis’ mission with medieval-quest sincerity. Davis’ vocal delivery skips the typical Ozzy worship in favor of death metal territory, phrases stretched and guttural in the vein of Obituary and Autopsy. Far Out’s sound system did it all justice, volume cranked to punishing levels and all. Ryley’s bass stampeded and King’s drumming hit like a storm. The trio stayed stripped down and heavy as hell from note one.
Despite the doom tag, Conan isn’t afraid to let loose blastbeats and circle-pit energy, a vibe Far Out knows well whenever a rowdy show rolls through. Honestly, moshing was the smart move, a good way to burn off the vampire mosquitoes that come standard with Texas summers. Bug spray and body-slamming made surprisingly good kinship for the sweltering Tuesday night. It’s the kind of show that makes you want to hibernate for the rest of the summer, but nights like this make the sweats worth it. Call it a season finale, for now.
Conan’s US run rolls on through New Orleans and Birmingham before wrapping July 25 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tickets are available via the band’s website.
All photos by Justin Clark
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