Austin Digs The Eagles of Death Metal at Sold-Out Historic Scoot Inn Show
The Historic Scoot Inn, which opened in 1871, is said to be one of the oldest bars in Texas. It started as a railroad depot and still has a rustic saloon feel. The outdoor stage holds over 1,000 people, so it can get crowded, but the atmosphere stays intimate.
Even with a sold-out crowd, the Eagles of Death Metal show felt like catching a local band at a classic Texas dive bar, especially since the band mingled with fans, chatted, and took photos before their set.
Note: The Eagles of Death Metal are not a death metal band. They are not even a metal band. They are the easy-listening (à la The Eagles) version of a Death Metal Band, per the origin story as told by frontman Jesse Hughes. They are, in fact, a bluesy, “boogie” garage rock band with riffs that get stuck in your brain for days.
The band came out to the song “We Are Family”, with Hughes sporting his trademark red satin cape. They kicked things off with the Death By Sexy album opener,“I Want You So Hard (Boy’s Bad News)”, then played the entire 20-year album in order, before moving into a brief mix of fan-favorite hits and covers.
Throughout the night, Hughes kept the crowd energized by shouting “CAN YOU DIIIIIIIG IT?”, also a famous line from the 1979 cult classic The Warriors. Hughes took time between songs to let the audience know how much he appreciated them, shifting between crass and confessional anecdotes. He joked about the possibility of forgetting the lyrics to the 20+ year-old songs as he pointed to his phone on a stand on stage, placed to help keep him on track.
This would become a running joke and one theme of the night. After one song, he laughed and said he had learned a “bitchin’ new trick - if I don’t remember the words, I’ll just go ALGGGHHHGHHH.” No one seemed to notice whether he really did this, and at no point was he actually seen consulting his phone for guidance. A second theme of the night was his immense gratitude for the fans spending their evening with the band.
Before dedicating a cover of David Bowie’s Heroes to the audience, Hughes shared a more serious moment. He admitted he wasn’t sure he could perform again after the 2015 mass shooting at Paris’ Bataclan Theatre, where three terrorists attacked the crowd, killing 90 people, including the band’s merch manager. Hughes has said it took him six years to get back on stage without thinking about dying. He ended the story on a lighter note, thanking the crowd for “making it possible to keep shaking my dick on stage… CAN YOU DIG IT?”
Hughes, who also goes by Boots Electric, didn’t just stay confined to stage. Later in the set, he walked through the crowd while playing his guitar, making his way up to the venue’s upper deck and back. He also jumped into the pit multiple times, moving along the barricade to hug, shake hands, and sing to fans at the front. For the finale, inflatable tube men popped up and flailed chaotically to “Speaking in Tongues.”
The Eagles of Death Metal continue their North American tour through September before heading to Europe and the UK in November.
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