While eyeballing the young crowd as Broncho was on stage, I couldn’t help but notice a sense of complacency across the audience’s faces.
As a Mother’s Day gift, my mom and I went to see Cage the Elephant. She, completely unaware of the hidden gem like quality some opening bands have, suggested that we show up late and just make it in time to see Cage the Elephant. I told her no way and we rushed through dinner to make it in time to see Broncho and Portugal. The Man. That was a mistake and I should have let her finish her glass of wine as she would need it.
Broncho, currently touring with Cage the Elephant and Portugal. The Man is an indie rock band from Norman, Oklahoma. The lead singer, Ryan Lindsey, is dressed in a sloppy, oversized white shirt, light-washed jeans and a beanie. There are lyrics coming out of his mouth, but after my mom questioned it, I’m not so sure they’re singing in English.
Although the band did have a hit song that frequented the airwaves on Sirius’ XM’s Alt Nation, you never would have known this by the fact that no one sang along when the Oklahoma band played “Class Historian.” Instead, the millennials faces lit up with a faint glow as they were probably tweeting something along the lines of, “What the !@#$ am I listening to?”
This band has an audience who appreciates and enjoys their music, but this was not it. The people who showed up to see Cage The Elephant danced along and, at least, looked alive while Portugal. The Man, the other opener, played their set. Maybe it had something to do with, what I initially found very silly, their “hype man." Maybe their “hype man” can help out Broncho because there was absolutely no hype during their set.
It was obvious that the audience was a fan of Portugal. The Man’s sound when the mood dramatically changed from Broncho’s set. During their set, the mood was dull, the people were engulfed in their decvices, and no one cared. The lights were moving but the audience was not.
I have seen Broncho twice -- the first time in a dramatically different setting, a setting where, in my opinion, they belong. Last May, Broncho opened up for garage rockers, the Growlers, at Atlanta’s Terminal West. In comparison to this show with Cage The Elephant at the Infinite Energy Center, the previous show made more sense. Broncho was playing in a 7,000-square-foot venue rather than a 13,000-seat arena. They were playing with a band who had a similar sound to theirs own. It worked.
Broncho, stick to what you know. Stick to traditional venues and similar sounds. As I saw on Friday night at the Infinite Energy Arena, you are not the band that can succeed in an arena setting. Yet. Naturally, no band starts off selling out and headlining arenas. Broncho, you can work your way up. I have hope for the success of Broncho.
Broncho is scheduled to release a new album, "Double Vanity," out in July under Dine Alone Records.
