I always get a tad overexcited when LGF goes : "There's this artist you need to see play live.."
So a couple of days ago : we went to see Ariel Pink play live at F.C. Venetië in . Great venue by the way!
LGF: "Think 200 hipsters in skinny jeans, cycling hats, tiny shorts, Roman sandals (the boys) and scraggly beards descending on a local bar with a small venue for gigs at the back."
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti is now at its 5th installment. And you don't even have to look for it on eBay of blogs like Gorilla vs. Bear anymore, 'cuz the dudes from Animal Collective released every single one of them on their label Paw Tracks.
I'm not sure whether VICE or the Venetians did the decorating. Don't matter : great job.
LGF: "I wasn't sure what to expect, really. The original tracks are so low-fi and weird, it seemed strange to think of an actual person performing them live. The first Haunted Graffitis, including my personal favourite: #2 (The Doldrums) were one-man home recordings. So how was the band going to work? Did he hire someone to go 'pssjjiew!' 'psssj!' into the mic during the songs? Would he sing the lyrics through a plastic tube to emulate the original sound? Of course not. Turns out the band played the material tighter and louder than I would have imagined, with an amped up bass that sometimes wandered off into Joy Division territory. Songs like 'For Kate I Wait' and 'Strange Fires' sounded better than ever."
The things this man can do with his voice, his hair and a hanky are nothing to be sneezed at.
Us Belgians are huge fans of crowd participation.
LGF: "Towards the end, the crowd finally started defrosting and there was some front-row dancing and a sing-along to the poppiest Ariel Pink song ever: "Round and Round". When the encore was finished, the bass player sprinted towards the entrance and started selling vinyls and T-shirts of a man french kissing a dog. His hands were still trembling from playing. The Hipsters retreated to the bar, where Mauro Pawlowski was hanging out with Hannelore Knuts. Some of the dEUS line-up came by to say hello. Mauro hooked up his iPhone to the soundsytem, 'Irresistible Bitch' by Prince started playing and the remaining models/socialites circled up on the dancefloor. All in all, a good night."
More Ariel Pink here
