It’s Good To See You
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| photo by Simpson |
People are sometimes surprised with some of the bands I list as my
favorite. Apparently, I have a reputation for liking the harder, faster, louder
genres of music – apparently. So when I stated that Pinback was indeed one of
my favorites, I wasn’t so surprised by the surprised reactions I received.
Pinback is a truly talented band that has withstood the test of time.
Emerging in the late nineties, the band has stayed true to their original
sound: melodic, edgy, dark, and somewhat bored. Essentially a duo, Pinback is
Zach Smith and Rob Crowe, with Chris Prescott on drums. The two share vocals,
Zach providing more monotone versus and Rob hitting the whiny high pitched
notes.
Pinback can be seen pretty regularly in Santa Barbara, usually annually
at Velvet Jones. This time around they played a Monday night. Expecting a
pretty dead show, I was surprised to see the venue full. Having the show be open
to all ages obviously helped the attendance, but to be quite frank, I was
surprised the young folks of Santa Barbara were even aware of who Pinback were.
But here the kids were, on a school
night.
The set started slow with Zach on the keys and a monotone Rob
performing “Tres,” a melody from their second album. Pinback continued to play
a nice mixture of songs from all five of their albums, with a large number of singles
from their 2012 album “Information Retrieved.” Unfortunately, being an old
timer, I wasn’t as in love with this album as I was with their earlier works,
but the kids in the crowd ate it up. They managed to play well into the 11
o’clock hour before playing their radio hit
“Fortress,” at which point the normally sedentary Rob grab the mic and
went into the crowd, ending up way in the back of the bar (probably ordering a
shot along the way). After making it back to the stage, they played my favorite
“Good to Sea.” At this point the crowd started getting all crazy and began
something that resembled a pit – which was quite entertaining being that this
was a mellow indie electronic rock show.
The show was near 26 songs long and was quite lively – for a Pinback show
(got to keep it in perspective). I wasn’t disappointed that I went out on a school
night, and have to say, Pinback, it’s always good to see you.