The emergence of Ariel Pink as a musical cult figure, mostly thanks to the release of The Doldrums on the Animal Collective’s record imprint, Paw Tracks, has fostered debate and curious wonder from fans and foes alike. His most severe detractors bemoan the inconsistency of his releases, and the very, very primitive recording ethos that informs them - but they’d be lying to themselves by denying the catchiness and skeletal strength behind some of Pink’s best tracks.

And his fans, as rabid as they might be, would be hard pressed to adore each and every one of the at least twenty releases available to the general public that Pink has put out since 2002. We’re more inclined to agree with champions of the Ariel Pink sound, like Mountain Goat John Darnielle who writes, on his blog Last Plane to Jakarta: “Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti 2: The Doldrums, though, is the real thing; the sweet late vintage; the truly hard core. I hope everyone on the planet buys it and gets real sweaty. Bottoms up!” But we'd also be liars to deny some trepidation about Saturday night’s Ariel Pink Mohawk appearance. Pink’s a strange cat, and no one could guess if a live environment would foster more his frustrating or transcendent habits.

Austin’s Pataphysics were tapped to open the show, wolf hats on and jumpy post-punk quirk out. Catchy, energetic and unpredictable, the Pataphysics experience is mostly brought to you by lead man Patrick Healy, who flails, paints a picture with his hands and generally drops the microphone and contorts himself to the bouncy band’s melodies. A strong backbeat and spacey synths (the player appropriately wore a NASA t-shirt) further kept their fans moving their feet and eyes forward. At times Healey’s goofy Devo-on-helium antics made the melodies less appetizing, but they brought it all back home with covers of Nirvana’s “Mexican Seafood” and “Hurricane Fighterplane” by clear influences and Texas boys themselves The Red Krayola. After the buzz and excitement generated by Pataphysics, Brooklyn’s Chairlift were a comedown. An electronic, bass-less trio, Chairlift’s set dealt in serious mid-tempo songs that felt like Saint Etienne on downers or Beach House on uppers. The moody “Territory” explored lead singer Caroline Polachek’s airy melancholy and auxiliary percussion skills, and she remained the most eye-catching performer – at least compared to the muted percussionist and sleepy guitarist.

Ariel Pink formerly toured with prerecorded tracks as his only accompaniment, but he wisely enlisted a backing band for this tour, entitled “Thanks Mom, I’m Dead.” Even so, Ariel Pink and his crew firmly kept the crowd at an arm’s length all evening, as if wary of what might happen if the curtain lifted. Pink stood most of the show with his left shoulder to the crowd, and heavy reverb and delay made even the click of drummer Jimi Hey’s drumsticks at the start of each song sound otherworldly. A thick, repetitious “wind effect” blew through the speakers on many numbers, and sometimes it was difficult to make out the arrangements over the purposeful cacophony.

Regardless, the charm and brilliance of Pink’s compositions always managed to bleed through. From the 60s storm front of garage iconography “She’s Gone” to “For Kate I Wait,” each number in the too-short set saw Pink and his backing band fulfilling those often dinky-sounding bedroom recordings with a much needed dose of surefooted and competent bass from Tim Koh (also a player with White Magic, Lavender Diamond and more), alternately brash and beautiful guitar from Cole M. Greif-Neill (a real name?) and keys from Kenny Gilmore, lately of Lilys. The altered state of the music made the show less-easily successful than it could’ve been, but Ariel Pink is about nothing if not surprises. Bottoms up.

Ariel Pink: [website] [myspace]
Chairlift: [website] [myspace]
Pataphysics: [myspace]