Idolator

As far as the rarity, maybe these dudes need to find other things to do(of course, maybe they already have)together, that way this type of stuff can expand from just the realm of a show. First off, any show i've gone to from jr. high till now has had, at least at one point, my friends and I with our arms around each other, dancing and yelling/singing. But that's also how we act when the Angels are having an exciting game, or when we win a softball game, or during a good fight, or just drinking at a party, etc.

I've been in committed bromances for years with the same men. Oh, girls are usually present and welcome in the bromance. I guess if I had to pick one good Bromance show, it'd have to be Alkaline Trio in Anaheim, 1999. Good drunken times...me and my buddies never let go of eachother throughout the entire set.

I'm going to re-read the article to make sure I know what the hell it is about.

Good post, by the way. Made me ponder some ideas...you're 2/2 today.

Someone on the NPR comments suggested Guided By Voices, which I think is a good example of your "Bar Band Bromance". One thing though: I wasn't clear if you're saying the "bar band" bromance is an inherently misogynistic thing. I guess, let's say, a Cro-Mags show from the 80's could be Bromance, but that'd be certainly alienating for the females."...but there's a fine line between roleplaying a type of masculinity and embodying it, as friends' bruise photos on Flickr can attest."---That part I didn't quite understand. Once again though, I like your ideas you're putting out there.

the last show I saw with a cluster of superbromantics in attendance was Tokyo Police Club. I'm not sure which category they'd fall into. Then again, maybe it was just the kids and not the band.

The other bromance that hasn't been mentioned is of the shirts-off, West Hollywood Club variety. Anyone who's been to see Captain Ahab can attest to this.

@BillyChance: Aaaaannd that is NOT bromance. It's many other things. But there ain't not "mance" between those bros.

@slowburn: ain't NO "mance" Jeez. ain't no coffee here either.

I mentioned this elsewhere, but isn't moshing kind of an ultimate form of bromance?

@BillyChance: I've seen things get bromantic at Captain Ahab shows... And in two-man spazzcore outfits;)

@slowburn: You just corrected your own double negative. So you could make a proper grammatical error. (Hey, sentence fragment!)

Morrissey concerts

Can't tell whether this post is a confession of total metal-scene ignorance, or just one more way of saying "we indie rock people are different and special, dammit!" In other words, why is it "bromance" when a group of dudes goes to see the Hold Steady but not when they go to see, I don't know, Slayer or Motörhead? Maybe it's because there's no such thing as "bromance" - it's called "having friends"?

@MayhemintheHood:
I had some quality bromances at Alkaline Trio shows as well. Sadly, that's over now.

Lucero shows have always proven to be particularly bromantic for me

I'm just waiting on the New Bromantic movement myself.

@Ned Raggett: And then, 15 years later, its Melody Maker-hyped revival, BroMo.

@Ned Raggett:

Pssh. We've moved on to post-Bro already.

Electrobroclash

@Audif Jackson Winters III: A Romo reference! Orlando, anyone?

I still think "Contained" by Orlando is one of the most underrated songs of the mid-nineties.

@unperson: Interesting point to bring up, but I think harder rock is out of scope with what nick discussed, IMHO. While there is overlap in the fanbases perhaps, it's not going to be big. And I think nick was detailing specific nuances with the more indie-centric "bromance" than the more gutteral violent homoeroticism that you see at metal shows.

To this day, the best example of the latter is a video I saw of the Cro Mags in the mid 80s, where the pit was this air popper of young dudes. DAF would have been jealous.

In a more diluted way, this bleeds easily into a decade of nu-metal i.e. as commenter Michael D. said "Boy bands for boys".

But none of these latter examples have anything to do with "bromance"

It is interesting because it's not as if there's a clear precursor to that. This wasn't happening at Smiths shows.

@unperson: That's pretty much what I was saying. "It's called having friends." Hit the nail on the head there. I think the original article, while interesting, was just written by a woman who had maybe been living in one certain scene too long. Like I said, i've never been to a show in the past 15 years where I wasn't having a good time with my buddies.

Or maybe the writer just learned the word "Bromance", thought it was funny, and wanted to use it in a piece.

Pearl Jam?

Jack Johnson?

@MayhemintheHood: there's a difference between going to a show with friends and being unable to keep your hands off them during the whole time.

@science vs romance: Not to me. I've always been a helpless bromantic.