diff --git a/git-codereview/branch.go b/git-codereview/branch.go
index 982c739..0a277ce 100644
--- a/git-codereview/branch.go
+++ b/git-codereview/branch.go
@@ -21,7 +21,6 @@
 	loadedPending bool      // following fields are valid
 	originBranch  string    // upstream origin branch
 	commitsAhead  int       // number of commits ahead of origin branch
-	commitsBehind int       // number of commits behind origin branch
 	branchpoint   string    // latest commit hash shared with origin branch
 	pending       []*Commit // pending commits, newest first (children before parents)
 }
@@ -141,6 +140,12 @@
 		return
 	}
 
+	// Note: This runs in parallel with "git fetch -q",
+	// so the commands may see a stale version of origin/master.
+	// The use of origin here is for identifying what the branch has
+	// in common with origin (what's old on the branch).
+	// Any new commits in origin do not affect that.
+
 	// Note: --topo-order means child first, then parent.
 	origin := b.OriginBranch()
 	const numField = 5
@@ -197,7 +202,12 @@
 		}
 	}
 	b.commitsAhead = len(b.pending)
-	b.commitsBehind = len(lines(cmdOutput("git", "log", "--format=format:x", b.FullName()+".."+b.OriginBranch(), "--")))
+}
+
+// CommitsBehind reports the number of commits present upstream
+// that are not present in the current branch.
+func (b *Branch) CommitsBehind() int {
+	return len(lines(cmdOutput("git", "log", "--format=format:x", b.FullName()+".."+b.OriginBranch(), "--")))
 }
 
 // Submitted reports whether some form of b's pending commit
diff --git a/git-codereview/change.go b/git-codereview/change.go
index 6e4fd54..782b2d7 100644
--- a/git-codereview/change.go
+++ b/git-codereview/change.go
@@ -61,8 +61,8 @@
 		// This applies to both local work branches and tracking branches.
 		// TODO(rsc): Test.
 		b.loadPending()
-		if b.commitsBehind > 0 {
-			printf("warning: %d commit%s behind %s; run 'git sync' to update.", b.commitsBehind, suffix(b.commitsBehind, "s"), b.OriginBranch())
+		if n := b.CommitsBehind(); n > 0 {
+			printf("warning: %d commit%s behind %s; run 'git sync' to update.", n, suffix(n, "s"), b.OriginBranch())
 		}
 	}
 
diff --git a/git-codereview/pending.go b/git-codereview/pending.go
index 83725c8..2e6fe60 100644
--- a/git-codereview/pending.go
+++ b/git-codereview/pending.go
@@ -90,9 +90,15 @@
 	}
 
 	// Fetch info about remote changes, so that we can say which branches need sync.
-	if !pendingLocal {
-		run("git", "fetch", "-q")
+	doneFetch := make(chan bool, 1)
+	if pendingLocal {
+		doneFetch <- true
+	} else {
 		http.DefaultClient.Timeout = 60 * time.Second
+		go func() {
+			run("git", "fetch", "-q")
+			doneFetch <- true
+		}()
 	}
 
 	// Build list of pendingBranch structs to be filled in.
@@ -129,6 +135,7 @@
 	for i := 0; i < n; i++ {
 		go func() {
 			for b := range work {
+				// This b.load may be using a stale origin/master ref, which is OK.
 				b.load()
 				done <- true
 			}
@@ -140,6 +147,7 @@
 	for range branches {
 		<-done
 	}
+	<-doneFetch
 
 	// Print output.
 	// If there are multiple changes in the current branch, the output splits them out into separate sections,
@@ -235,8 +243,8 @@
 		if allSubmitted(work) && len(work) > 0 {
 			tags = append(tags, "all submitted")
 		}
-		if b.commitsBehind > 0 {
-			tags = append(tags, fmt.Sprintf("%d behind", b.commitsBehind))
+		if n := b.CommitsBehind(); n > 0 {
+			tags = append(tags, fmt.Sprintf("%d behind", n))
 		}
 		if b.OriginBranch() != "origin/master" {
 			tags = append(tags, "tracking "+strings.TrimPrefix(b.OriginBranch(), "origin/"))