Encore

For the second time in recent months, I went to see Brian Pounds perform. The show, at Dosey Doe in The Woodlands, was part of his BroMance Tour in Texas with Austin Jenckes. These singer/songwriter/musicians became good buddies after competing against each other on Season 5 of The Voice.

It was a girls' night out for Angy and me. Zach wanted to go, had planned to go, and then changed his mind, opting to spend the evening with his lovely wife instead of his mom and sister. It was, after all, their wedding anniversary. (Good call, son.)

To show you the view from where Angy and I sat, here are two uncropped photos taken during the show. I took the first one from my side of the table and Angy took the second one from her side.

Brian Pounds, son of Stephanie and Captain America

Austin Jenckes and Brian doing their bromance thing

Notice the absence of the backs of people's heads. This is what the view looks like from the front row at Dosey Doe. Front and center, I might add. That's what you get when you care enough to order your tickets the minute you hear about the show.

With seats like that, though, there's no slipping in if you arrive late, which we did by a few minutes. (Since when did musicians start being on time?) It wasn't cool of us. But in our defense, the needs of two starving women must be met above all else, and we had been holding back on our food consumption in anticipation of the meal we'd have out that evening. On the long drive to The Woodlands, we talked about little other than food and decided that since the cuisine at Dosey Doe was unfamiliar, we'd go for a sure thing.

By the time we got there, we were so hungry that Angy said we should find a place where bread or tortilla chips are put on the table immediately. We did a big loop around the freeway trying to decide where to eat. I'd start slowing down as we approached a restaurant, but neither of us would make the call, so we just kept driving, keeping watch for the next one.

We were leaning toward Italian, and I slowed down when I saw a sign that said Bertini's, but it turned out to be an automotive repair shop. So we finally committed to Carrabba's on our second drive-by, then scarfed down a satisfying plate of Italian food. And bread. Lots of hot bread dredged in seasoned olive oil.

But I digress—the evening was really about the music ...

Those boys complement each other's styles so well and I think raise each other's games. (Dare I say it, guys? You make each other better.) They took turns singing their original songs and occasionally sang together. The stage banter added plenty of entertainment value as well. Brian's a natural at it and keeps getting better. Every time he said something funny, the man sitting behind Angy, with whom she had not spoken nor even made eye contact, poked her with his elbow. Guess that bespeaks of the party atmosphere the guys created.

At the end of the show, Brian and Austin got a standing ovation that wouldn't stop until they returned to the stage. And good golly, what an encore! They did some fantastic covers, starting with Brian singing "Wagon Wheel," then Austin singing "Simple Man" (always love me some Skynyrd), Brian doing "Steamroller Blues," Austin with "Twist and Shout," and then the two of them reprising their battle round on The Voice with "To Love Somebody."

The crowd was singing along, whooping, hollering, foot tapping, knee slapping, and just having a ball. And although Blake Shelton chose Austin over Brian after the battle round (Austin went on to become a top 10 finalist on The Voice), if Blake had heard them at Dosey Doe, there's no way he could have picked a winner. Both of those guys killed it.

During the second standing ovation, they shared a quick hug before leaving the stage. My only regret is that I that I didn't get a picture of it. For the BroMance Tour, that was the money shot. And I was in the perfect spot to get it. Maybe next time.