Burgers & Metal: Rickshaw Billie’s Big Dumb Fest Returns

Austin locals Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol held their annual Big Dumb Fest at the Mohawk in the heart of Red River street featuring some of the best hard rock, metal bands, and burgers that the city has to offer.

This was the third installment of the annual Big Dumb Fest from local metal trio Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol. Big Dumb Fest, a name stemming from the band’s love for “big, dumb riffs”, a cheeky name for their sound as well as title for their third full length LP, is a homegrown local showcase of some of the best talent the city has to offer in the hard rock and metal scene, as well as some tasty burgers, and is headlined by Rickshaw each year at the Mohawk. Last year featured an amazing line-up of local talent from the likes of Die Spitz, Banged out, and Mugger among others and this year’s lineup didn’t fail to disappoint either.

Gran Moreno

The show began on the Big Dumb Fest main stage outside with the duo Gran Moreno, a latino heavy metal group comprised of just a guitarist/singer and drummer. The band played a mix of instrumentals and vocal songs, and with only two members the band was still able to fill the outdoor stage with the same amount of sound and energy as bands with five members. Playing heavy riffs with obvious influences of classic metal bands from the 70s and 80s, the band brought some nice originality with hints of the cultural influences, helping them stand out among the lineup.

Subpar Snatch

Kicking off the show on the indoor stage was the rambunctious punk trio, Subpar Snatch. Making their politically charged attitude the focal point of their show out the gate with their anti-trump poster board. The band brought the aggression and sound of old school punk as they thrashed ferociously both on the stage and in the crowd, while taking shots at the current political climate and the patriarchy using humor and wit.

Towards the end of their set the singer spoke about a critic remarking about women being in music as a gimmick so she leaned into it and got into costume as a giant female genitalia. The whole set was a fun, rebellious, and chaotic showcase of what it means to stick it to the man.

The Grasshopper Lies Heavy

As the crowd moved back outside, the heavy riffs from the chugging guitars settled in as metal band The Grasshopper Lies Heavy began their set. The band had all the hallmarks of great death metal with guttural vocals from the frontman, fast paced shredding riffs and a kickass drummer, the band gave the crowd no mercy as they laid into the heaviness of the music, all while having amazing chemistry on stage as all the guitar players constantly played side by side with one another, utilizing the full space of the stage.

Glime

Back on the inside stage the emotionally charged somber sounds of Glime began to play. Taking heavy influence from early midwest emo bands, Glime’s set was a calmer change of tone from the previous performers as well as the bands that came after. The crowd was receptive to the change in tone as well but one fan in particular really got into the music as he turned his energy up to 100 getting on his knees and vigorously banging his head to the band’s music, he almost stole the show with his praise alone.

Gus Baldwin and the Sketch

After the Glime set, one of the most anticipated acts of the show began their set on the outside stage, Gus Baldwin and The Sketch. As frontman Gus began waving his guitar against the amplifier to create distortion, the crowd began to pour outside to watch the chaos that was about to ensue.

Carrying the torch for bands like The Stooges and the Ramones, the thrashy fast paced, hard hitting sounds from the Sketch began to blair over the speakers. All while barring the weight of the Texas heat, the band didn’t stop from going absolutely crazy on stage which carried into the crowd as they went from one song to the next with their fast paced hard hitting, youthful punk energy, it was the perfect set to set the tone for the night.

Bat Lips

Closing out the indoor stage was the groovy, thrashy, metal band Bat Lips. Utilizing synth, extremely heavy bass, and dancy beats from the drummer, the three piece created a sound of their own. The band showed incredible stage presence as the passionate drummer went bonkers on the kit and the tall lanky bass player utilized all the space on stage to go absolutely crazy. The energy from the stage and sound was infectious as it poured into the crowd making the mosh pit go wild throughout the set.

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol

As the crowd was at 10 and excitement and anticipation filled the room, The men of the hour began to take the stage to get ready for their set. Before the show started a fan in the front row was given the bass player’s bass to play before the show. As the fan plucked along, Rickshaw hit the stage, the bass player grabbed his bass, the boys laid into one of their heaviest, gut punching songs, Body Bag. The audience went crazier than they had been all knight, most of the center had turned into a mosh pit as the party began.

Austin really showed their love for the Big Dumb Fest as the crowd chanted the lyrics word for word, and during the song Gravedigger half the crowd almost instinctively started making a grave digging motion upon hearing the opening riff. Towards the later part of their set, the front man took his guitar off and allowed one of the sound guys on stage to perform with them.

Between the wild stage antics, rambunctious stage dives, and loud chanting, Austin showed Rickshaw true hometown love and Rickshaw gave it right back. Big Dumb Fest has definitely become one of the best showcases in Austin to see, so if you missed it this year, you have to be there for the next one!