Thursday, May 8th at Mohawk marked the barn burning first appearance of masked country singer Orville Peck in Austin, Texas, but this might as well have been home for Sub Pop’s newest southern gothic superstar. The reception from the diverse crowd, dressed in their own takes on their cowboy duds, was stunning, and made it clear that this will likely be the last time Peck plays a venue this small in Austin for the foreseeable future.
Peck’s sound is an interesting case study in combining wide ranging influences and inspirations to create a truly modern take on an oftentimes stagnant genre. His brooding, hauntingly beautiful torch songs feature lilting, treble-heavy guitar leads straight out of a dream pop soundtrack, evoking the golden days of country and rock n’ roll, while gated drums and bass heavy production give his songwriting a post-punk edge. Peck, his domino mask obscuring his face, and his crooning, almost Elvis Presley like vocal performances, stands on stage with all the boldness of an icon. He quickly starts looking and sounding like the hero country needs in 2019.
Though the most chilling moments were when Peck and his band performed deeply moving songs like singles “Dead of Night” and “Big Sky,” Peck also embraces a grandiose willingness to have fun with his sound and with his audience. Tearing it up through a furious performance of “Take You Back (The Iron Hoof Cattle Call)” from his debut record Pony, Peck and his band played probably twice as fast as their recorded version of the track, transforming it into a blistering, dance-friendly hoedown.
In other moments, Peck embraced his love of femininity and theatricality. Before launching into a soaring rendition of “Kansas (Remembers Me Now),” another track from Pony, Peck explained that it was his nightly “Judy Garland moment,” to roaring applause from the LGBTQ+-heavy audience. For his encore, Peck returned to the stage and poured his heart into a sublime performance of “Fancy,” as performed by Reba McEntire, dancing and wailing and truly making the classic track his own. He mentioned beforehand he used to feel like he couldn’t sing the song well enough, until he decided to just say to hell with it and do it. Everyone in the room at Mohawk was surely glad he did make that choice, and it made for a fantastic end to a perfect performance.
Just such a short time into his career, and less than two months since the release of Pony, it’s already clear that Orville Peck is a huge performer with an incredible talent and the potential to dramatically influence his chosen genre. He is off to a wonderful start, and performances like Thursday night’s at the Mohawk will ensure his success just continues to rise. Standing on that small stage, it was obvious the gathered crowd was witnessing a star emerging.
