Sometime after 6:00, we arrived back at the Lobo House, as Jessica affectionately calls it, for a few minutes rest before making some dinner and preparing to go to the Legendary Pink Dots show. Once we finished with dinner and picked out our wardrobe for the show, Randy snapped some photos of us, which has been a ritual before heading out for a fun night on the town. Each time we partook in this ritual, Jessica was dating a different boyfriend, which I find interesting. Thinking about it, the first time I visited Jess in Albuquerque was the only time I actually had a boyfriend. Imagine that?!?!?!? As always, Jess and I had a lot of fun posing for the camera, in this case, the digital camera I borrowed from my roommate, Kent. Produced from this photographic session is a wonderful picture of me looking like I am stoned, unprepared for the flash that greeted my eyesight.
I'm not stoned, I SWEAR!
At long last, the night that was 15 years in the making has finally arrived. We are going to the Legendary Pink Dots show! After making a quick stop at the slowest Wells Fargo ATM I’ve ever seen, we arrived at the Launchpad, apparently the best venue to see a show in Albuquerque (or, so I’ve heard.) As you walk into the Launchpad, you are greeted by the bar, the best place to have the bar, right as you walk in the door. On your left, there are several booths to sit and chat with friends before the show. The venue is fairly narrow with exposed brick walls on each side. As you delve into the venue, you approach a stairway which leads to an upstairs sitting area with a balcony overlooking onto the stage. The layout of the Launchpad reminds me somewhat of the Fine Line Music Café in downtown Minneapolis, where I’ve seen Goldfrapp for the first time as well as Throwing Muses and American Music Club.
Going back downstairs, we pass by the merchandise table, where there was a significant chunk of LPD’s back catalogue for purchase, including both the North American (via Soleilmoon, out of Portland, OR) and German (via SPV) re-issues of their back catalogue. There was also a t-shirt, which I opted against purchasing, Edward Ka-Spel’s collection of writings and lyrics, Love and Loud Colours, and BLRR’s recently released re-issue of Eyes China Doll, the second of Edward’s China Doll series, released during the late 80’s and early 90’s. After some trepidation over the small budget I left myself with (having a small or no budget at all is the story of my life, by the way), I forked over $35 for Love and Loud Colours. I mean, after all, that was on the top of my list of LPD items to purchase. As I was hesitating, I remembered that the book included a CD single, which sealed the deal for me.
Up until we arrived at Launchpad, we had no idea if there was an opening act, or when the show was actually started. As it turned out, there wasn’t an opening act (that was a surprise), and that they were supposed to start at 9:30. Wow, a LPD show that could be done by 11:00! The forthcoming Seattle show on the 11th has 2 opening acts, which means that LPD would not start until 11:00, at least. Interesting! But, I digress.
So, we headed to the bar for a quick drink before the show. Even though I was wearing my Guinness hat, I ordered a Budweiser. Again, small budgets equal Budweiser. Jess ended up with a Guinness. I didn’t realize that she liked Guinness. Well, maybe I knew that. I kept reminding myself that I needed to have enough money left at the end of the trip for a place to crash in Portland on the 10th and an Amtrak or Greyhound ticket back to Seattle. God, budgeting money completely SUCKS ASS!
Grabbing a table underneath the balcony, we sat before the show to people-watch. Alongside those people dressed for the summer weather were also a few of the usual suspects, dressed in head-to-toe goth gear. At this point in time, the venue was not very full, but slowly people started trickling into the standing area. Jessica mentioned to me that since there isn’t a backstage area like most venues, the band would be coming from the balcony to approach the stage. Most likely, the band was hanging out in an undisclosed location behind a door on the upper level, marked “NO ENTRY.”
Sometime after 9:15 or so, we grabbed a place to stand in front of the stage, since a few people were starting to claim space. We originally picked the middle, but as usual, I found myself behind a tall guy, so I suggested that we grabbed an open space in front of stage left. We stood in front of what appeared to be Silverman’s setup, which consisted of synthesizers and effects, along with a cape draped over the front of the stand. The cape had some pink dots on it, how apropos. When we were looking at merchandise, the guy behind the table gave each of us a pink dot sticker and a button. I ended up getting a second button because I waited to get the book, and was given one again when I made my purchase.
**D.A.’s note: With regards to describing their performance, I’ve opted to discuss specifics of the Albuquerque show in a future blog entry. I’d like to discuss highlights and thoughts on the other two LPD shows I will be attending in Portland (Berbati’s Pan) and Seattle (Chop Suey) as this point. Therefore, my description here is abridged, but also contains a couple photos from the show.
The show started at approximately 9:45. The Legendary Pink Dots, consisting of Edward Ka-Spel, Silverman, Niels van Hoornblower, and Martijn de Kleer, descended the balcony stairs to take their places on the stage. Edward approached the stage wearing a black tunic over jeans, walking barefoot, as he has each time I’ve seen him in the past. Niels wore, by far, the flashiest suit and pants I’ve ever seen him in. For the next 90 or so minutes, everyone in the audience was entranced by ethereal vocals of Edward. At one point, in traditional LPD fashion, Niels walked into the audience, making everyone swoon in his path with his excellent “hoornblowing” ability. He even walked upstairs with his saxophone (with a light attached) to serenade fascinated onlookers.
Their set consisted of what I believed to be tracks from the new album, Your Children Placate You from Premature Graves, along with other tracks I’m not familiar with. The one song I did recognize was Belladonna, which started their encore. Their live performance here brought back memories of past LPD shows I’ve seen. Their music is whimsical at times, nearly apocalyptic at times (nowhere near what I felt when listening to the new Current 93 album, for example, Black Ships Ate the Sky.)
At one point, Edward bent over to sing to two gothic-looking girls, one appearing to be more normal, with a pink dot sticker on each of her breasts (how original); and the other one definitely donning the dominatrix look. Personally, I find the gothic look completely silly. But, these two wouldn’t be out of place at all in Seattle’s Vogue nightclub. My only complaint about the show was the few people that were standing behind us, chattering loudly during softer parts of the set. Stupid chattering assholes have been a real thorn in my side lately. I'm seeing more and more of it, which drives me completely insane. But, half the time, the perpetrators appear to be able to kick my ass. In the end, if I turn around to say "SHUT THE FUCK UP," I'd most likely make it worse. But, why the fuck do idiots spend their money on shows if they are just going to talk all the way through it??? That pisses me off.
After the show, the band came around to chat with the crowd. A small line formed alongside the merchandise table to greet Edward. After some coaxing, Jessica got me to get in line so Edward could autograph my book. When we got to him, Jessica did most of the talking. I’ve always been in awe of Edward, which made the moment magically. Jessica thanked Edward for coming to Albuquerque, being that she’s always missed out on seeing past shows.
We left Launchpad a short time later to find a place to get a drink, but a lot of the bars in town were actually closed, most likely because it was Sunday night. Then, we had the idea of driving over to the Pulse Nightclub, the gay nightclub in town, but that, too, was closed. Jess then suggested Albuquerque Mining Company, which she thought was gay-owned, given the giant leather daddy painted on the wall outside. We arrived there to see that AMC, too, was closed. We gave up, and headed home to retire for the evening.
2 comments:
It's good to see that you're cramming a lot of vacation into a fairly limited amount of time. Bravo!
Sounds like you had a great time! And well.. as far as your pic is concerned, you still look hot :)
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