On Par with a Bottle of Miller Lite from Bob Pollard's Cooler

I promise after this, no more Ariel Pink for a while, but here is the mandatory review of the show.

Somehow, it had not all sold out yet, but the crowd was pretty tight. I unfortunately missed the first opener who I heard was pretty great, but can in right as Bobb Trimble was about to begin.



His set was strong and his band was comprised of a second guitarist, bassist, female vocalist - necessary as his voice could not get as freakishly high as it used to, percussionist and drummer. Most of the members were quite younger than him, but not that much younger relative to his past backing bands. They were all enthusiastic and performed well, for a time all in silly hats. Trimble was searing an odd hat as well, but soon switched to a Red Sox cap. The bassist was wearing a shirt with Bobb's image from the cover of Iron Curtain Innocence which of course I find kind of weak, but it's an awesome shirt either way. I would ahve bought one myself, but alas my size was not available. They are limited edition and were only $15 dollars so if you have any interest in owning one I would get on that.

Then came Ariel with one hell of a set. He and his band played mostly new stuff, but with just enough classics to keep the show largely recognizable. Here is the set list which I snagged off a synthesizer (some titles are abbreviated and not recognizable to me):

22 Eyes
For Kate I Wait
Flashback
Can't Hear
Remin.
Baby Comes Around
Hardcore Pops Are Fun
Among Dreams
People I'm Not
Interesting Results
Fantasma
Lil MG

ENCORE:
Trepenated Earth
[I can't remember at the moment, but I think it was an old one]

Also, he played "Are You Gonna Look After My Boys?" at some point.

I had been hearing mixed things aobut Pink's performance, but I think it was strong, his performance evokes the same diverse LA classics as his music. Onstage he channels Darby Crash, Rozz Williams, Jim Morrison, and Axl Rose as much as Stevie Knicks, Ron Mael, and Brian Wilson. The band is tight and has great energy, but as much of a real band that Haunted Graffiti is now it still comes across that Ariel is in charge. His presence is strong in a uniquely genius way. His merchandise table was decent, I got a T-shirt and Oddities Sodomies vol. 1, but I was expecting some of his early CD-R releases, something special.

One thing I had been wondering before the who is waht he would be wearing. It was a black satin jacket and a white sweatshirt that read "Bigger Raffi Fan." Classic. Here are some photos:


Rock God




Interesting Results


Let's get nervous!


Rockin' the Keys


Hangin' out after the show. It was here that Ariel told me "If you love Rock 'n' Roll you gotta move to L.A."