Porno For Pyros Live

Moore Theater, Seattle, 6/14/96

by S. Duda

(First appeared in The Rocket Magazine, 6/26/96)

In vino veritas. In wine there is truth. From my seat, it looked like Perry Farrell, well into a bottle of Andrew Will (probably merlot), was ready to really testify. Farrell attacked the stuff with gusto, swigging right from the bottle. Like most people, I had no idea what to expect from Porno For Pyros (I don't even consider myself a fan), but I took the guzzling to be a good sign. It was.

Farrell will always be remembered for grafting arty vines onto the sturdy trunk of Led Zep grooves in Jane's Addiction. His Porno For Pyros moves have stepped away from the slam and glam and toward a more hazy psychedelia, but when a robed and hooded Mike Watt stepped on stage to play bass, anything Farrell had in store suddenly became that much more interesting.

Interesting it was. Farrell, guitarist Peter DiStefano, drummer Stephen Perkins, and a backup singer did more than just play, they put on a bona fide show. The Moore is a terrific place to see a concert, but PFP's mastery of the stage was artistic. The staging, lights, and mood were a perfect fit with songs that were pretty, floating, sharp, and focused.

It didn't hurt that both band and crowd (packed) were in terrific moods. Farrell was chatting it up and seemed to be having a great time. The band stuck to PFP material, which seemed, judging from its stellar presentation, a rather dignified decision. After a medium-length set, they walked off for a brief intermission and returned to play a short, shimmering, acoustic set. Here's more Latin to swallow: veni, vidi, vici. Came, saw, conquered.


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