Pinback: The Aftermath

Well, it’s over.  I just saw successive Pinback shows two nights in a row.  And when you think about it, it was kinda high risk.  Like, I’ve deemed them my favorite band to see live based on the two shows to which I’d previously been.  Expectations were high.  They could hardly do anything but disappoint, at least a little, right?  I mean the second night of a sushi feast is just never going to be as satisfying even if you order completely different fish.  And of course, they’re going to play some of the same songs.  I don’t want to love them any less…and guess what, I don’t 🙂

These guys are just rad.  I’m not gonna sit here and ‘review’ them because I’m not a reviewer of things.  I just like to write about stuff I think is cool or crappy. [SIDE NOTE: It hasn’t escaped my attention that the current state of text generated by LLMs is perfect at exactly one thing, sounding like a critic…of music, art, food, whatever.  I dare you to go read any random review of anything and tell me the florid, snarky language doesn’t sound like it came directly out of chatGPT]. But anyway, it’s the two main guys, Zach Smith and Rob Crowe, the drummer, Chris Prescott, and a second guitarist / bassist, Nick Reinhart.

Rob is decidedly the front-man and he’s got this lovable Meatloaf meets Steve Wozniacki vibe.  And if that doesn’t scream rockstar, it shouldn’t.  At one point he said to someone in the crowd, “Hey front row guy, can you not blow pot smoke in my face please? Because I'm trying to perform for you here and you're making it really hard”.  It was cute and earnest and relatable.  But he’s also funny.  The first night they played the album Summer in Abbadon in its entirety (LOVE when bands do this) and he asked the dude running the swag table for the setlist.  An audience member yells out: “It’s just the album!”.  Rob’s response: “I don’t listen to it”.  Amazeballs.

Zach is the bassist, or bass god as he’s known in the Reddit forums (Yes, I’ve been reading them in my post-show(s) basking period).  The dude is crazy on that thing.  It’s mostly strumming and he somehow mixes rhythm, melody, harmony all into one.  The analogy for great drummers is an octopus because it’s as if they’ve got 8 arms.  I’m not sure what the analogy would be for Zach’s fingers (spiders?) but they’re moving so intricately and fluid-like, and what’s coming out is not at all show-offy, just musical as shit.  And when it’s mixed with the other instruments, and everything’s going on you can’t tell who’s doing what. It’s just this fusion of beautiful sound.  Complexity used to make the end product sound simple and accessible (you know, what we’re all trying to achieve in SaaS). 

(Notice his attire. Same black t-shirt, jeans, and dad sneakers both nights. Remind you of another innovative thinker type? I wonder if he channeled Jobs or if that’s just how he’s dressed for years and years.)
‍

He also plays an Alembic.  It’s so pretty.  And expensive.  He plays it way up high, so he can never look as cool as Rob, but man can you tell it’s love.

The first night was just great:

They played the entire album and they played some other hits and songs we all want to hear.  They had a screen playing some of their videos and different stuff.  The video actually broke at one point and they just laughed it off.  They did that silly thing that all bands do where you play ‘the set’ and then you walk off stage for two minutes and come back for the ‘encore’.  What is that?  It’s like an automated  part of a process that used to be spontaneous like 100 years ago.  Or maybe 50.  Did Led Zeppelin only sometimes come back out when they were having a particularly good night, or the crowd was especially fervent for them to do so?  I don’t know.  But anyway, it was a Pinback show and like I knew I would, I loved it. 

Day 2: 

Now for some context, I am not a night owl.  I typically go to bed at 9.  I require ten hours of sleep.  So after getting in at midnight, and working all next day I’m just not physically as gung-ho as I was the night before, but no less excited to see them again.  And yes, they played some of the same songs, but mostly those are the songs you love and could hear over and over again anyway.  But they also played what the kids might call some ‘deep tracks’, songs I’d never heard before.  The tone was down-tempo and even the lights were dimmer.  It was a different vibe and just as solid and they ended with a bang the way they’d done the night before, by bringing the opener, Hammered Hulls, onstage to play the last song.  It was like Pinback with an Iron Man suit on or something.  Just huge and heavy and freakin’ awesome.  And yes, they once again played everything just a little bit too fast.

For what it’s worth, Nick Reinhart is also outstanding and the drummer is so good it makes me nauseous.  

What’s the takeaway?  One, definitely go see Pinback when they’re in town.  And if you don’t live in one of those towns, go to Spotify and listen to some of their music (townspeople should also do this).  Two, they’re still my all-time favorite band to see live.  The sheen hasn’t dulled, and they didn’t disappoint even with the extra pressure of having to keep my full attention for two nights in a row (and for sure they felt this because of course they read my previous fangirl post). Three, I’m more determined than ever to have them come play on my 50th birthday and will unleash all the hustle and doggedness I use to get prospects on the phone (that’s a blog for another day) to make it happen.