Concert review: Orville Peck w/ Gold Star and Jaime Wyatt | 07.30.24, The Factory (with photo gallery)

Photo of Orville Peck by Bryan J. Sutter

Masked country crooner Orville Peck returned to St. Louis for the first time in 5 years at The Factory on July 30th, 2024. Supporting his new record, a collection of duets titled Stampede, it was a career-spanning evening of tearful twang and choice western wear.

Rockers Gold Star opened the show. Sporting the most broken-in Telecaster Deluxe I’ve ever seen, Marlon Rabenreither led the crowd, along with drummer Jeffertitti and bassist Jordan Odom, through an impressive performance of old school rock n’ roll. The LA trio has quite a few bangers in their catalog and I was excited to see them live. I was not let down, and the crowd gave them a warm reception.

Outlaw country queen Jaime Wyatt brought things into a different territory. With a backing band clad in matching hot pink animal print button ups, this veteran of the music industry came out swinging. I did not exactly expect something so arresting. A life of ups and downs has given Wyatt a resolve and quiet fire that is hard to ignore.

There was a palpable excitement leading up to Orville Peck’s performance. The crowd was filling in for most of the evening, and what started as a modest draw became a swelling congregation of country fans and misfits of all walks of life. I’d argue that for a handful of hours, The Factory was likely the most diverse location in the metro area.

The lights dimmed and “The Spirits of St. Louis” by notable outlaw country singer Johnny Paycheck filled the room. It’s the sort of quirky song from the ’70s you might have heard on KDHX’s Blursday some years ago, and there’s a non-zero chance that I have a family member that has gotten absolutely shitfaced while listening to it. Before long, the band took their marks, and from the photo pit, I could see Mr. Peck himself head on out from stage right, decked out in a sharp lime jacket and pants with a matching cowboy hat. His signature black mask, now without the threaded fringe, matched his undershirt. It was maybe not the most exciting outfit he had in his traveling wardrobe, but it was undeniable that the man looked good.

Orville Peck and his equally well-dressed cohorts started things off a little slow with “Big Sky” before heading into whirlwind performances of “Turn to Hate” off of Pony and “The Hurt Kind,” one of the standout tracks off of Stampede. While Peck did not have his duet partner for that song present, he did an exceptional job carrying the vocal duties by himself. From there he played a mix of songs from various parts of his career. It is hard to believe that his debut record Pony came out only 5 years, as it feels like since that time he has released a decade’s worth of music and numerous songs that are destined to join the greats of the genre.

Onstage, Peck comes across as confident but humble, and expresses a level of comfort in front of a crowd that seems effortless. When handing out roses to well-dressed Individuals on the dance floor, he was enthusiastic and giddy. The man’s charm is undeniable, and it made the cavernous venue feel much smaller and more intimate, no easy feat.

I bet the man throws a killer dinner party.

I’m sorry to say that due to circumstances outside of my journalistic duties, I was unable to stay for the whole set at The Factory. The middle of Peck’s performance consisted of mid-tempo songs that were obviously building to an apex near the backend of the setlist. If there’s anything more disappointing than showing up to a show late and realizing you missed the peak of the evening, it’s leaving before it occurs. That being said, what I witnessed lived up years of word of mouth and years of articles about Orville Peck, and I would not hesitate to see him live a second time. | Bryan J. Sutter