For Kate I Wait
February 19, 2006 – 02:09Until tonight, I was convinced that there was no such thing as a more drug induced/influenced performance than John Frusciante’s first two solo albums. Well, I was wrong. Allow me to introduce Ariel Pink, whom I had the pleasure of seeing tonight at Schuba’s here in Chicago.
Ariel’s set is divided into two parts; the first being a solo set in which he plays keyboard and sings to a pre-recorded cassette tape and the second being him playing with the “backing band for the day”. From his site:
“Paw Tracks artist Ariel Pink announced today that he’s inviting local musicians to perform with him onstage.
“You will get to be my back-up band – for a day,�? said Ariel Pink.
On his upcoming tour, Ariel will perform the first half of his show solo, and the second half with his band of the day. The first band in each touring city to e-mail katy@fanaticpromotion.com will get the opportunity to play with Ariel Pink. Ariel asks local bands to arrive by sound check so they can practice before the show, and to bring their own instruments and amplifiers. Drummers are invited, but beware, you will have to compete with Ariel Pink’s mouth, which will provide the drumming for his solo set.
“The element of surprise will keep me from falling asleep onstage,�? said Ariel Pink.”
Talk about a crapshoot. What had the potential to end in disaster actually turned out to work quite well.
As for Ariel himself – I would liken him to the stoner equivalent of Wesley Willis. That may not be totally fair, as Ariel Pink is certainly more musically talented than the late and great Wesley Willis. But I am pretty sure the same thing is going through their heads while they are performing. Having said that, I was glad I went. Hell, I might even illegally download some of his music.
2 Responses to “For Kate I Wait”
I started to cring when I saw the update. Yeah not exactly what I was expecting either but a lot better then I thought. I’m just bummed that it looks like I’m going to miss Moqwai while in Atlanta next week.
By Visible Ivan on Feb 20, 2006
He was great in SF! He did hardly anything from House Arrest.. mostly Doldrums and stuff from Master Disc, and he opened with “She’s My Girl.” The “backing band” was this heroin chick that added vocal minutiae as she saw fit. She tried to kiss his soul through his throat.. the last words of the show were, “No, no, down, stop.”
By MiHe Says on Mar 30, 2006