THE DALLAS MORNING NEWS
Fans eulogize venue where bowling, music lived in funky harmony
By: Tom Maurstad, Pop Culture Critic
A lot of years – more than 40 – have produced a lot of identities for the Bronco Bowl.
It was a revivalist church hall, a teen nightclub and a bowling showcase. But it earned its place in local history as a rock ‘n’ roll mecca. In the last two decades, everyone from Bob Dylan to Marilyn Manson to Outkast played there.
Tonight, the Oak Cliff institution rocks for the last time. Bulldozers and wrecking balls will bring it down to make room for a proposed Home Depot. And then the Bronco Bowl will take on its final identify: a legend.
“You just know that 10 or 20 years from now, people are still going to be talking about it,” says Tim DeLaughter, founder and front man of the Polyphonic Spree and one of many music junkies who are already mourning.
“They’ll talk about the great shows they saw there and what a great place it was to see a show and just how crazy and cool it was. There’s no place like it. There never will be again.”
So why do people love the Bronco Bowl? Two things are always mentioned first – great seats and great sound.
But the true source of its legend is beyond such practical virtues. In the nightlife world of never-ending tricks and trends, the Bronco Bowl had the rarest of qualities: vintage funkiness…
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