The air in Mesa’s Nile Theater was steaming on Sunday night for a nearly sold out show with Don Broco. The British rockers made their way back to the States for a proper headlining run, this time joined by The Home Team and an energy that only this band can unleash.
Over the years, The Home Team has built themselves up from DIY basement shows to extensive mid level touring runs before finding a camaraderie with the Don Broco lads. As such, their direct support slot drew plenty of Arizona fans who have been watching them grow over many gigs in the Valley. The band showed off that progression with an impressive stage set up and even more impressive stage presence as they ran through a litany of well-loved songs.
As their set came to a close and the crowd was properly warmed up from screaming along to “Slow Bloom”, “Move It Or Lose It” and more, the band took a heartfelt moment to express their gratitude to Broco for taking a chance on them time and time again. That love was later reciprocated by Don Broco- with singer Rob Damiani’s only grievance against the band being that they’re not from Arizona (“All the best bands are from Arizona!”).
When it came time for Don Broco to hit the stage, they did so with their typical swagger and got the crowd even more pumped by opening with “Gumshield”. This headliner was a chance to pull out little-used tracks and we got the full treatment with both “Uber” and “Endorphins” from the band’s latest album, Amazing Things. Damiani stomped up and down the Nile’s stage, while bassist Tom Doyle riled up the front row with his antics. Drummer Matt Donnelly pulls double duty with vocals as well, lending his voice to the iconic chorus on “Come Out to LA” and much more throughout the set.
Broco’s regular guitarist was sidelined on this run so the band once again enlisted Marc Okubo to take over and he shredded through the set like it was second nature. The audience became part of the band, tossing custom cowboy hats for them to wear- and nothing gets between Damiani and a fun hat. The band even called for a good old fashioned wall of death to really get the room moving and the crowd was happy to oblige. After all, it’s not a true Don Broco show if you’re not walking out with a few new bruises.
Broco wanted to see some “Action” so they enlisted the help of “Bruce Willis” to really get the people going. By the end of the set, Damiani was jumping on the barricade and practically into the crowd during “Everybody” before they returned for a cheeky encore of “Fingernails” and the iconic, garment-whipping frenzy that comes with “T-Shirt Song”.
The band certainly tours abroad as often as possible, but this show came with the news that they’re going to hide away for awhile after this run to make an album and come back better than ever. With the mutual love that Arizona and Broco share, they’ll be welcomed back to the desert with open arms.
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Story and photos by Olivia Khiel
