Brooks Nielsen

Growlers frontman Brooks Nielsen returns to El Paso with triumphant solo set by Vincent Arrieta.

Brooks Nielsen's solo performance in El Paso was one of those “you had to be there” moments — a legendary night...

Nielsen, frontman for the self-described “beach goth,” rock ‘n’ roll band The Growlers, made his debut as a solo artist in the Sun City on Thursday, Sept. 8, at the Lowbrow Palace on Texas Ave.

While The Growlers have made several El Paso appearances (mostly at the old Lowbrow location) before rapturous audiences, this was Nielsen’s 12th show as a solo performer. The performance comes off the back of the release of his debut solo double-LP One Match Left.
The crowd was devoted. Nielsen’s presence as a solo performer has been more or less a word-of-mouth situation. He has left it up to Growlers faithful fans to spread the word of his solo endeavors.

And what a success it was.

Despite not necessarily being familiar with his sprawling solo LP, the El Paso crowd was sucked into a hypnotic and air-tight hour-and-45-minute set of shapeshifting rock ‘n’ roll perfection.

Neilsen's band includes Growlers drummer Richard Gowen along with bassist Brogan Ducher, keyboardist Cole Riddle, and guitarists J.D. Carerra and Deen Anbar. Together they were an absolute marvel of live performance, rivaling Jack White’s thunderous El Paso Coliseum show this past May for title of “best concert of the year” so far.

The band has only been together for approximately six months, shared Riddle, which is shocking given the efficiency and finesse with which they perform Nielsen’s material.

It was simultaneously tight as any long-time touring band, but with enough spontaneity to not distract from the music's craft.

An extended rendition of Nielsen’s solo gem “How Do You Like It So Far (This Life)?” tapped into the song’s naturally dubby qualities, creating a loose-limbed dance party that unwound even the most serious of concertgoers into spaghetti-like dance monkeys.

The band performed with the pinpoint accuracy of a vacuum-sealed Steely Dan record, the slick performative posing of latter-era Roxy Music, the wild energy of Ziggy Stardust-era David Bowie, and the marathon energy of a three-hour Cure concert.

Guitarist Deen Anbar felt like Mick Ronson to Brooks Nielsen’s Bowie.

Everyone may have been looking at Nielsen, but they were feeling Anbar. Much like Ronson’s molten glam-rock accompaniment, Anbar’s note choices were effective and fluid, not the work of a guitarist running up and down the fretboard with no particularl place to go. If the song called for a three-note solo, Anbar delivered just that.

Complimentarily, stage right guitarist J.D. Carerra provided more harmonic support, acting as rhythm guitarist for most of the night. He shared an equal responsibility in bringing Nielsen’s catalogue to life – especially when sitting behind the mighty pedal steel guitar, providing shades of western flair.

Bassist Brogan Duchard, whose parents were in the audience and revealed to have roots in El Paso, and keyboardist Cole Riddle were in absolute lockstep with drummer Richard Gowen. They formed a jazzlike, three-person rhythm section that betrayed heavy doses of dub and reggae influences, attributed to Riddle’s professed love for the genre.

Nielsen himself was at his awkwardly charming best, baring these songs with an earnestness dressed in his usual carnivalesque stance and puffy-eyed poker face – he’s the Cody Bellinger of rock ‘n’ roll.

In addition to the new solo material, Nielsen gave the audience a healthy dose of Growlers favorites. “Love Test,” arguably his signature song at this point in his career, felt more honest than ever before with his new band of aces: “Nothing is easy, love isn’t easy as it seems.”