Monday 5 December 2011

PINBACK @ Brudenell, 30th November 2011


I don't know why I've procrastinated on this one. Well, it wasn't really my fault, I've been trying to write a report due in on the 4th and keep getting distracted by things I do/don't really care too much about. Yep.. the typical student "I'm a procrastinator look at me" bullshit. Anyway, I want to tell you about the Pinback gig. I actually really do want to tell you because I can honestly say it was the best show I have ever been too. Now, taking into account that pinback has been one of my favourite bands since i was about 15 or something, you might say that this is one biased-as-fuck review. And in response to that I say YES!! IT IS BIASED AS FUCKKK!! And rightly so, I reckon pinback is totally worthy of a bit of bias because they fucking destroyed the brudenell on the 30th, and if you ask anyone in the audience (besides the guy who complained to me about my dancing) they would most definitely agree with me.

JP inc giving the news report
 
First off, I got there a little late because Sainsbury's sucks at providing accessible money, so I skip in halfway through "JP incorporated”.. ahahahahhahaahha... it was hilarious, partly due to me having just arrived, and partly due to never seeing anything like it before. Picture this; a guy on stage with a fake grey beard doing jerky robot dance moves to cheesy keyboard rock singing TV jingles about such topics as strangers having the best candy, THE INTERNET, the usefulness of Steves and one of my favourites, bowl noodle hot japanese instant noodles. It was like watching a youtube video in real life. Check this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIaRb3OJWjU&feature=related, its definitely funnier to see it in person though because you don't know what the fuck is going on, and neither does anybody else.


I met a girl at the front who ended up becoming my pinback buddy for the evening which was rad, I've never been able to closely share a band like pinback with anyone besides my brother, so to meet a normal functioning human being who knew the words to the songs I did was quite exceptional. Too bad she doesn't like stalkers. The first song they played was Tres.. and it was all go from there. The moment those soft undulating piano keys fell on my head my mouth dropped. The emotion I felt from seeing/hearing them in the flesh was overwhelming, my hands cupped over my mouth like a preteen girl getting wet over the Jonas Brothers, my mouth gaping wide in uncontrollable glee. If only Pinback shot their hot white foam over our faces....
"its all right now.. come closer.. talk to me"... those words emanating inside me as the song ends and they continue on into a beautifully organised array of tracks encompassing all eras of their music, from the newest "Autumn of Seraphs" to the oldest "Pinback CD", played in a sporadic order so none of us could guess what to expect next.

 
Sweeeet
 
The girl I was with wanted to hear ‘Penelope’, and Penelope she got. By fuck she got it good. The drumming was a lot more intense, forcing me to dance even harder than I had anticipated, much to the dismay of one guy behind me who explained that my head rocking almost knocked his glasses off twice. Part of me felt bad, but part of me simply wanted to tell him to chill the fuck out. For one thing I was standing jammed at the front, if I had walked a couple of steps forward I would’ve been dry fucking the stage. And secondly, I have wanted to see this band for so long that I honestly didn't want to control myself. I used to look scornfully at those in the audience who seem to be going 'overboard' at shows, but in those moments I was too selfish to realise how music can affect people in ways which don't have explanations or justifications besides the fact that music is a powerful powerful thing. I think it was during one of their newer songs, maybe 'Devil you Know', when I my hair was fluffed angrily by the unhappy musicgoer. So what the fuck was I supposed to do about it? Suppress my feelings of overwhelming joy? Fuck that.

Zack... duh
I have also come to realise how talented Zack, the bassist, really is. Not only does he play extremely tech riffs, off-beat and confusing and fuck, but he manages to sing perfectly in time and pitch as well. Halfway through a song one of his bass strings broke, which I later stuffed in my back pocket. Thanks Zack, my super wall looks alternative now

aww yeeah













It was around two-thirds through the set that I really stopped caring about the people around me and their non-existent judgements, and during the best song of the night: Prog. This was my first Pinback song ever, from one of my favourite skate videos of all time; Transworld's 'In Bloom', which my brother showed me in 2003 or something. Obviously this song held a lot of meaning for me so it made sense to go fucking nuts. From afar the verse and chorus seem so different, but when you put them together in complete song they become so beautifully complementary. The verses acting as one big suspense builder, then the first chorus just a light drop of sugar on the tongue to keep you wanting more before skipping back to the verse. And then, the ultimate chorus of all time. The guitar riff, setting the most positive, uplifting vibe as lead singer Rob's awesomely held notes carry my vocal chords up and up whilst the drums continue getting louder and louder. The state of euphoria was unbelievable, I was on the verge of tears but I just kept jumping up and down, up and down. All the while screaming "keep that loveee, rightt theeeeerrreeeeee".. fucking awesomeeeee! I now know my lyrics are wrong but they sound right when you’re yelling.

Other highlights included Fortress, where Rob simply dropped the guitar, picked up the mic and MC’d whilst Zack started busting out some discoey keyboard rhythms. The few times I glanced around the crowd I got some really happy vibes, everyone was bopping and I felt like they had a real appreciation for the music. Rob fell into the crowd and had a little wonder around to check it out too.

The crowd during Fortress
They ended on a killer encore which included around 3 songs, in particular AFK, one of their more aggressive songs which sent electric jolts down my spine and another hot filthy wave of sweat out of my glands. Considering how long they have been playing for, and all the potential dangers time can have on your vocal chords/enthusiasm, every song sounded as good, if not better than on their studio albums.

I realise this is a really long piece but whatever... I'm just happy to be sharing it. If you go see a band you love in future just go wild and fuck what anyone else thinks, the band could die tomorrow in a horrible bus crash or sink on their ferry to Ireland so you might as well enjoy them to the full while you still can.

Zack me and Rob.. stokeddd!

Listen to some pinback:
Prog
Loro
Concrete Seconds
Good to Sea