The Decibel Tolls

Two things sucked about this night, but neither had to do with the bands.

First, my camera revolted against me – freezing, erasing files on its own volition, etc. This caused me to lose my video of Ariel Pink’s pre-show banter and the Vivian Girls tossing a tambourine into the crowd to play along (only to have the recipient completely unable to keep a beat). Sad on the inside. However, my friend Talena Sanders saved. the. fucking. day. by not only ponying up her camera, but also parting the seas of American Apparel to get right up in front and snap some cool shots. Many, many thanks to her.

Secondly, the venue, Al’s Bar on Lexington’s near north side, is a tough place to see a show. The bar itself is really cool, but resembles more of a neighborhood haunt than a music venue. That makes sense, as Al’s was conceived as a smaller scale billiard hall, restaurant, and bar – one that just happened to start hosting live music. As such, the acoustics are a little muffled and, more unfortunately, they do not have a stage. Whereas Lightning Bolt can pull off playing on the floor, it’s hard to expect every other band to do the same (though Ariel and the Vivs were rather awesome on the floor). I applaud Al’s for being able to host all ages shows, something Lexington has needed for a while, but wish that they would build a stage now that they boast a regular concert calendar. Nothing fancy, maybe just two drum risers pushed together. That would help a lot. If you’re not three or less persons from the performer, you can’t see anything.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about the actual Ariel Pink/Vivian Girls co-headline show and how much it ruled.

Vivian Girls hit the stage around 9:45 p.m. and ripped immediately into “Wild Eyes.” I wasn’t sure what to expect with them live. I like the record – a bit overhyped, but good nonetheless. I think everyone in our group and I were really impressed with the Vivs – for a number of reasons, but primarily by hearing the eponymous record brilliantly translated in a live setting. They are just as noisy and upbeat in person as on record. As alluded to earlier, they know how to have fun with the crowd, passing out tambourines and letting audience members play along. Drummer Ali Koehler is absolutely motorik in her drumming, and bassist “Kickball” Katy sings through a reverberated distortion box on the harmonies. It sounds quite unusual (hence, refreshing).

Most interesting to me, though, was how much fun they were having. Perhaps it’s the sometimes monotonous vocals, or perhaps it’s the “zomg these doodz are from Brooklyn so hip lol” vibe that our lovely blogosphere propagates, but I expected them to be rather unapproachable shoegazers. Not so – the Vivs were all smiles, chatty with the crowd, and exuded rad times and rocking out. Their set ended with a blazing Thurston Moore style feedback and guitar destruction storm, with the Girls switching instruments halfway through the jam to end on a very loud note. In short, Vivian Girls are a very good live band and totally worth seeing.

My theory concerning the crowd makeup was proven shortly after the Vivian Girls ended their set. A noticable portion of the crowd was definitely there for the Girls, and folks began clearing out. Fine with me, it was too warm in there anyway and indie rock dorks harsh my mellow. Moreover, the vibe improves when everyone is unequivocally there for the performing act and nothing else. What I mean to say is this – when I saw Oneida live a few years ago, they were touring with Magnolia Electric Company. The MagElectCo played first to a packed house, and then everyone left (save for 30 people or so) before Oneida hit the first note. Later, I talked to Fat Bobby from the band about this, and more or less apologized for people being lame. He said something that makes a lot of sense – I’m paraphrasing of course, but his attitude was roughly “I would rather be in front of a smaller crowd that came out to see us play than being in front of a sell out crowd that may or may not be listening.” So with that said, the Ariel Pink crowd was more intimate, and more intense.

Ariel declared two decrees before beginning the rockshow. He first stated “let’s hurry up and get this show over with, I gotta take a piss.” He then changed clothes on stage, sporting a glittery, beaded, psychedelically colored blouse that a cool grandma would wear and slipped on tighty whiteys over his trousers. Afterward, he instructed the crowd: “move closer, I’m cold… BUT DON’T TOUCH ME!” This set the paradigm for the next hour.

I saw Ariel Pink once before, when he was opening the pre-Feels Animal Collective tour, but since I was working the show I didn’t get to really enjoy him. They played as a duo (I believe) at that time and I was told by a few people that Ariel Pink was “unlistenable.” Maybe that was true, but I think a lot of that crowd wasn’t familiar with Ariel Pink and were unaware that both his records and live show consists of a lot of deranged sonic bullshit. There’s nothing to “get” with Ariel Pink, which I think confuses a lot of people. You either think he’s fun, kooky, and cool – or you don’t. I certainly fall in the former. I think the same could be said for everyone at Monday night’s show. They knew what they were getting into.

Ariel Pink sounds fantastic as a full band, which includes members of Beachwood Sparks and Lilys. The band is able to strike a smart balance between recreating the sounds of the recorded Ariel Pink with translating the music live, featuring enough variance and tempo alterations to make it interesting. As a matter of fact, some songs were translated so well and so clearly restructured that I had trouble recognizing a lot of the setlist (and I have most of Ariel’s released material, though the dude has something like 50+ tapes of music). The band kept the music steady while Ariel traversed around the “stage,” getting loaded and talking shit. It was awesome. Ariel Pink is truly a divining rod of all that is sinister and delightfully askew.

Ariel Pink’s live show, of course, will not convert anyone who isn’t already down with his art, his image, and his mystique. However, the full band addition really accents the most brilliant moments of Ariel’s songwriting, and the acerbic sarcasm from Ariel peppered betwixt songs is not only entertaining, but kinda endearing as well. Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti has a very unusual and amazing stage show, and my expectations were 100% fulfilled.  If you think his records are fun, kooky, and cool, the new Ariel Pink live show is totally recommended.

And shit yes, he played my favorite – “Are You Gonna Look After My Boys?”  I was so pumped and wanted to scream “and after my baby so she don’t run off with my soul!” But of course, I was recording and couldn’t. Enjoy the color saturated video – I think it matches the timbre of the music. Synaesthesia, bro.

Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti Odditties Sodomies Vol. 1 is out now on Vinyl International (it’s limited edition, and if you like “Omen” below, you need to jump on that). Vivian Girls’ eponymous record is available on… um, not sure of the label, brb.  Back… yes, it’s on In the Red. Their website is aces, as well.

MP3 :::
Ariel Pink – Omen
Vivian Girls – Where Do You Run To