Two Tons of Steel

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After our jaunt to Gruene that Saturday evening in early February we took in the band "Two Tons of Steel" at the Broken Spoke.

Two Tons of Steel is a San Antonio rockabilly/country band who we had seen before at Guero's -- at one of the Sun Radio events and then again one weekend under the live oaks. They're a very good band with several records. They even do an interesting cover of Fred Eaglesmith's song "Alcohol and Pills".

The Broken Spoke is an old time dance hall and a bit of a country culture icon in Austin. People were there to dance, to hear the band and to click a check-box of places you must see while in Austin. You can also go there for dinner -- they, like many others, claim to have the best chicken fried steak in Texas. I can tell you they don't.

We arrived by Uber (a short but expensive ride from our nearby home) at around 8:30 for the 9:00 show. We're met at the door by James White (the owner and builder) who is decked out in fancy cowboy gear. There's dance lessons from 8:00 until 9:00 when there's a show and there are lots of people attempting the Texas two-step. The lessons went well past 9:00 and the show started later.

The dance instructor (I believe she's James White's daughter) kept the crowd entertained as she attempted to teach the fundamentals. I'm sure some learned a step or two. However, once the show started it became pretty clear that there are dancers and there are punters trying to dance. It's a treat to see people who can dance (I can't, Kate used to be a dance instructor), it's painful to see those who have no sense of rhythm. But everyone was enjoying themselves and I suppose that's all that really matters.

The last time we were here was to see Dale Watson on our visit last year. At that time we got in to find the place packed solid -- standing room only. We didn't like that and didn't stay. This time, when we were entering we asked if there were any seats and were told that had admitted 150 and had room for either 350 or 450. So we got in and took a table on the side with not much of a view of the stage. For the band pictures I got up close to the stage. But it did seem pretty crowded on the floor and at the tables. The sound was pretty good up front and on the dance floor but not so great we were sitting. We only stayed for the first set.

The Broken Spoke is a victim of it's own success. It's far too busy on the weekends. We could try going to the regular Tuesday night residency with Weldon Hensen. I suspect it's not as crowded and there are more dancers.

Ps. they have WiFi, James White gave me the password. It's "Keep it Country".