Orville Peck : Bronco Tour

If you're still asking, "who is Orville Peck?" you are missing out! But, to answer that question in a nutshell, he is a South African-born alt-country rhinestone-covered musician who always wears a fringed mask so that his face is never visible in public.  But his face is irrelevant in light of his gentle, highly expressive croon and sentimental songs about love and loss.  I was Orville for Halloween last year, complete with his signature fringed mask and cowboy hat - and it is one of my favourite costumes ever.  

His debut album, Pony, was released in 2019 and was followed by an EP titled Show Pony.  Pitchfork points out that he soon "made the leap from curiosity to cult figure, climbing his way up the bill at festivals, hosting an episode of the Netflix documentary series This Is Pop and signing with Sony Music".  He has performed and recorded with a host of other artists, including a duet with Shania Twain, Legends Never Die, which appears on Show Pony. He featured on a cover of a Johnny Cash song, Jackson, with RuPaul's Drag Race alum, Trixie Mattel and recorded a reimagined country-tinged version of Lady Gaga's Born This Way for the tenth anniversary re-release of her Born This Way album.  He also performed a version of The Chicks' Cowboy Take Me Away with Miley Cyrus at her Pride Special, Stand By You, last year.  

His latest album, Bronco, was released on 8 April.  According to NME, there is a "sense of growth on the album – the title, charting his journey from ‘Pony’ to ‘Bronco’, is no accident – and all 15 tracks feel sonically muscular and more mature than those of its predecessor".  Indeed, Peck himself has describe the album as his most authentic to date, created during the pandemic when he was “writing in isolation and going through and ultimately emerging from a challenging personal time”.

Needless to say I jumped at the chance to see him live on his current US tour.  As usual, tickets for his NYC shows sold out and were available as resale tickets for obscene amounts.  This should really be a crime.  Anyway, we managed to get reasonably priced tickets for the Philadelphia show at The Fillmore and decided to spring for the VIP package, which included early entry into the venue, a signed tour poster, commemorative VIP laminate, Orville Peck guitar picks and a limited edition Bronco belt buckle.  Early entry meant a great spot close to the stage, which we had to guard from sneaky non-VIPs which meant no bathroom breaks.  Totally worth it.

The opening act, Teddy and the Rough Riders, was a pleasant surprise.  The Nashville natives really got the crowd going with their brand of country rock 'n roll and American folk.  Soon after their fantastic set, Orville and his band took to the stage.  From the opening number to the encore, he gave the screaming audience everything they wanted: sultry vocals along with impressive high notes, emotional connection and pretty cool moves.

The complete setlist was as follows:

Daytona Sand

Turn to Hate

The Curse of the Blackened Eye

Lafayette

C’mon Baby, Cry

Winds Change

Drive Me, Crazy

No Glory in the West

Trample Out the Days

Outta Time

Any Turn

All I Can Say

Hexie Mountains

Legends Never Die

Kalahari Down

Dead of Night

Bronco

Encore:

Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call)