Black Lips

Black Lips & Ariel Pink //
Bimbo’s 365 Club – San Francisco
October 14th, 2015 //

Black Lips exploded into SF’s hidden gem of Bimbo’s 365 Club, creating an unlikely contrast of a spit-in-your-face, garage-rock band in a club that would be suited for the rat pack.

Garage punk to its core and looser than geese, the Atlanta five-piece consisting of Cole Alexander (vocals, guitar), Jared Swilley (vocals, bass), Oakley Munson (drums, vocals), Zumi Rosow (vocals, saxophone) and Jeff Clarke (guitar, vocals) seemed to be a bit tame for a band with a reputation for putting on high-energy, unpredictable and anything-goes gigs. That was until the crowd filed into the room and they played the sought-after song “Katrina”.

Finally, it was the Black Lips again giving the show everyone expected: crowd surfers, shirt losers and Alexander catching his own spit from the air. Being true to their lyrics, they ended with “Bad Kids” and earned the sea of beer that was chucked at them from below.

Thus began the weirdest intermission and largest exodus of smokers or mere fresh air seekers exiting out front, leaving just four souls holding fort in front of the stage.

Ariel Pink

It would be pretty entertaining and informative to see somebody like astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson debate with Ariel Pink. Somewhere between the lines of Pink’s songwriting, there is a bottled-up genius, and nobody but a genius could write such strange songs except for maybe R. Stevie Moore, whom Pink made a 61-track double EP with in 2011 entitled KuKlux Glam.

Pink’s set began uncertain of direction with many of us eagerly wondering when they would play a more recognizable favorite. Suddenly, as if it were never going to happen, the band broke into “Number in My Phone” and “Only in My Dreams” to wake us up from any confusion.

Pink’s backing band is the perfect blend of an American Apparel ad mixed with Hedwig and the Angry Inch ensemble, with Ariel holding their passports for ransom to ensure full dedication. They are clearly from Los Angeles, but in a great way. During “White Freckles” large-pupiled fans jumped at the chance to mosh like it was its only opportunity, knocking over drinks, people and innocence in the process.

Pink’s ever-endearing shyness made it unclear whether he enjoyed his time onstage or not. Between the set’s last song and the encore, which seemed like an eternity in terms of show standards, half the audience left thinking he and his band wouldn’t return. When they finally did though, the true believers who stuck around were treated to a four-song encore that included “Four Shadows” and a “goodnight” from one of modern music’s biggest weirdos.

BLACK LIPS

Setlist:
Sea of Blasphemy
Family Tree
Modern Art
Justice After All
Dirty Hands
Go Out and Get It
O Katrina!
Make It
Boys in the Wood
Funny
Drugs
Ghetto Cross
Not a Problem
You’re Dumb
Smiling
Raw Meat
Bad Kids

ARIEL PINK

Setlist:
Dinosaur Carebears
One on One (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti song)
Nostradamus & Me (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti song)
Bright Lit Blue Skies (The Rockin’ Ramrods cover)
Put Your Number in My Phone
Only in My Dreams (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti song)
West Coast Calamities (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti song)
Menopause Man (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti song)
Baby (Donnie & Joe Emerson cover)
White Freckles
Lipstick
Not Enough Violence
One Summer Night
Netherlands (Ariel Pink’s Haunted Graffiti song)

Encore:
Negativ Ed
Goth Bomb
Four Shadows
Dayzed Inn Daydreams