Photos and text by Ashley Bradley

Even though The Weary Boys broke up in 2007, their fan-base is still very much together. So much together that they played two reunion shows this past weekend at Continental Club, both of which were packed houses. I was there to capture moments from the show on Friday, when they played with swampy-tonk band Mayeux & Broussard. During their set, M&B mentioned that they wouldn’t have been a band had it not been for The Weary Boys because they really paved the way for their style of music in Austin.

In between sets I was wandering around, talking to people about their love for the band. As a late-on-the-Weary-wagon girl, it was nice to hear about everyone’s love for them early on. One woman told me she saw The Weary Boys 20 years prior, going on to state they’re what introduced her to Austin’s music scene. Now she says she practically lives at the Continental Club. A man told me he used to drive in to town at least once a month from Kerrville to see them. Another man told me he was “really really into them when [he] was in [his] 20s, when music was actually good.”

When the boys all came to the stage, people started hollering and mostly women fled to the front. I don’t know if it’s because I had mine on, but it seemed everyone had their Ga-Ga eyes on as they watched the band start their first song.

Though I never saw them play when they were actually together, their set seemed seamless—like they had never stopped playing together at all. Especially because the audience still knew every word and was singing just as loud as the band was.

Mayeux & Broussard

The Weary Boys

During their set, singer Mario Matteoli pointed as his mom in the middle of crowd and thanked her for being there. The audience then pulled her to front-center stage while telling her how great her son is.