The Bright Light Social Hour & The Tontons

Cold Beer. Live Music. And oh yeah, awesome barbeque....
The Bright Light Social Hour & The Tontons : Live

The Bright Light Social Hour & The Tontons : Live

Cold Beer.  Live Music.Cold Beer.  Live Music.   And oh yeah, awesome barbeque.

Sometimes a concert isn’t just about the stellar performances, but the story behind the venue.  Stubb’s BBQ is an iconic indoor/outdoor venue that has a rich history in music and great BBQ.  It’s famous gospel brunch – from grits and fried catfish to breakfast tacos and brisket – is a uniquely Austin menu combining Southern, Texan, and Mexican yumptiousness.  It’s popular outdoor stage is gritty and authentic and a main venue for South-by-Southwest (Dave Grohl and the Sound City Players rocked a huge show there last year – QRO photos).  CB Stubblefield perfected his sauces first in Lubbock in 1968, promoting great blues and food, into the ‘70s; “Stubb’s restaurant became the heart of an explosive music scene as jumpstarts for musicians like Joe Ely and Stevie Ray Vaughn.  Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Robert Cray, George Thorogood”, and more. (from stubbsaustin.com)

The Tontons

On a perfect summer Friday night in February, with 80-degree daytime temps, the full moon Valentine’s Day will go down as the night the vocal vixen Asli Omar came to town as Foxy Brown (referring to the awesome hair of singer of The Tontons).  Kicking off with several new songs off the just released Make Out King and Other Stories of Love featured this week by SPIN magazine and getting some twitter love from @MTVBuzzworthy, it was obvious that Houston’s Tontons (and whoever the make out king is) have been, are, on the verge.  Headliner The Bright Light Social Hour watched with respect from the side of the stage.  The eclectic mix of songs included Omar’s fave “Pony” about emotional breakups, which had soft, painful lines, and a hint of Amy Winehouse, and the high-energy “Veida” (which means wisdom) with lyrics “I just wanna feel / I just wanna feel something”, then “NoiseTrade”, which had a more indie-pop sound.

Asli OmarHumble.  Happy.  Gracious.  Incredibly seductive and sensual beyond her years (early ‘20s?  She was only 18 when the band started), maturity, poise, confidence – Omar was definitely interesting and alluring, and for a moment, due to her incredibly perfectly smooth skin, lean posture, striking poses and beautiful features, resembled a mannequin.  The barefoot lady wore a beautiful, long black velvety gown with a high collar and a cool retro Afro wig.  “I hope you are having a really great Valentine’s Day and that tomorrow you are very, very tired!”  She gave much praise to the last minute fill-in drummer who learned all their songs in just five hours – regular drummer Justin Martinez was in a hospital after an appendix burst during the last show in Dallas.  She said he was a trooper and waited until after the show to announce he was really sick.  Just off Austin’s Fun Fun Fun Fest and gearing up for SXSW, let’s hope he has a speedy recovery.

The Tontons

The Bright Light Social Hour

In a unique, blue democratic bubble in Texas, and the South overall, Austin is an interesting clash of bohemia and politics.  Although strong and stable locals for many years, more since their hit debut album, The Bright Light Social Hour (TBLSH) gained new recent buzz last fall with their simple but profound song “Wendy Davis”:

Stating, “Last night we found ourselves at the SB5 protest at the Texas State Capitol Building in Austin.  After the vote went through we ran home, wrote and recorded this song and made the video with footage we took on our phones.  La lucha sigue, y’all.”

Recently they expressed being comfortable having a political perspective – established feelings of optimism coinciding with the Obama election, then finding their grit and passion and hopes for a different political future and a liberal society.

Self-proclaimed a “psychedelic southern rock band from Austin born out of a university art-rock collective,” the band is highly intelligent, in singer/guitarist Curtis Roush and bassist/singer Jack O’Brien’s master’s degree programs at UT, and true to rock and roll roots.  Their tracks are eclectic, melding southern rock, hard dance, psychedelic blues, and deep soul, their debut full-length album led to their success at SXSW 2011 and the Austin Music Awards, including Band of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year.  When describing their sound to citygrammag.com, “We all like southern music so much.  Soul, blues, southern rock… We just got really curious about pairing the feelings of southern music with a more forward-looking vision.  As the South is trying to become a more progressive place, tiny bits at a time, we’re interested in the music of that.”

Jack O’BrienWith recent gigs with Aerosmith, ACL Live, and Austin City Limits Music Festival, hometown faves TBLSH showed why Austinites have always turned up in droves for them.  Girlfriends lined up the side of the stage with large caffeinated beverages as TBLSH glossy eyed and happy jumped off with several songs from the new album (soon to release), including “Dream Love” (apropos).  O’Brien could have been mistaken for Chris Robinson of Black Crowes if it weren’t for the stylish jeans and shoes underneath the heavy wool Indian Poncho, which was shed after the first song.  “Sweet Madeline”, a ‘70s vibe psychedelic tune, was the calm before the storm – a high-energy rock and cardio show (O’Brien must burn thousands of calories per performance).  Popular favorite “Detroit” with lyrics “I need your love” fit the theme of the night, even though O’Brien admitted he thought, “Valentine’s Day is a stupid holiday but if you are all out there spreading some love in the crowd, then it’s alright.”  If fans skipped out a few minutes early to beat traffic, they will be broken hearted as they missed an enthusiastic encore – Roush & O’Brien crowdsurfing, Omar joining them onstage, a valentine cake for the crowd and a great Marvin Gaye cover.  You may have even heard some fans chanting, “Wendy!  Wendy!  Wendy!  Wendy!”  I bet she was even there!

Focusing inward, leaving some of their youthful partying persona behind (and changing band members recently), The Bright Light Social Hour showcased their new album may be more mature.  Intelligent and meaningful, yet purposefully keeping with the psychedelic ‘70s theme, still focused on retro, vintage studio recording.  Gearing up for the upcoming SXSW and Sasquatch music festivals, let’s hope TBLSH find a little time to rest.  Or at least, get some seriously strong coffee.

The Bright Light Social Hour

Categories
Concert Reviews
Album of the Week