Austin TV, Werebear - 8/6/26 - Fresno, CA - Strummer's

Werebear, a four man group from Orosi (not Dinuba) came on stage first with a fast paced set that phased punk, garage rock, blues, and electronic on top of and between and inside of each other. Songs that sounded like Black Keys or LCD Soundsystem. They were strongest when all the different elements of their music shined together, a bluesy Black Keys beat, LCD melodies played on keys or guitar, and punk rock tempo. 

The vocals were mostly delivered in a rapid fire, staccato style that was not quite rap, sometimes hunched over a mic while playing keys and sometimes in front of a mic (and sometimes with only a mic while someone in the audience restrung a guitar). The flow on The Master was especially memorable. The bassist was the most theatrical of the group, hitting moves you’d expect to see at a Metallica show. The guitar player was almost hidden behind a speaker, I suspect he had some kind of mixer back there that I couldn’t see. Unfortunately I didn’t spend a ton of time watching the drummer, but the beats were fun with good variation. They had a good energy and stage presence, most of it coming from the singer and bassist. 

Imagine if Angine de Poutrine was a quintet instead of a duo, and that's what Austin TV is. And when you’ve got five great musicians, there's no need for looping mechanics. They moved from the prog, art tock to spacy expansive songs like Explosions in the Sky followed by funky jams like Phish and then morphed into My Bloody Valentine before landing back on Angine de Poutrine. But the main theme of their show wasn’t their incredible musicianship or great stage presence, it was from the feelings of catharsis and peace their music brought out. Like with every song they were trying to pull out a painful memory or feeling and exorcise it through the music. But that’s not to sell the music or performance short. They are categorically great musicians and performers. 

Their set up was a bass player in the center of the stage flanked by two guitarists and backed by a drummer and keyboardist. And they’re all wearing matching masks with Orville Peck-esque fringes hanging from the eye holes. They explained the masks as a way to create community because when we stop worrying about our differences, community is what happens.