In what was advertised as “the most evil show of the year,” Pink performed as an unannounced late-night guest following the venue's regularly scheduled She-Rock event on March 1.
“I kept thinking, ‘Why is this happening?” audience member Audrey Sutcliffe says. “It took some processing. I was pretty pissed afterwards.”
Pink, according to Sutcliffe, joined indie band Period Bomb 30 minutes late after hiding as a planted audience member and spent the remainder of the hour set time gallivanting on the stage without ever playing a song.
The artist never uttered an intelligible thought either, instead electing to make indecipherable sounds and attempting to speak what Sutcliffe assumes was Spanish. The closest thing Pink got to music was some unrhythmic drumming.
For Sutcliffe, the most confusing aspect of the show was the segment dedicated to hitting the prolific Pink with stray dildos that decorated the stage during the previous act's performance.
“Ariel went over to the drums and started playing them, but not good,” she says. “I was a little uncomfortable with the whole dildo thing. It felt like a weird nightmare.”
Brooklynn McNeil, who attended the show with friends, says it was entertaining despite the lack of music.
“I don’t really care that much,” she says. “But my friend really liked Ariel’s music, so it sucks that she didn’t get to go to a real concert that she paid for.”
Refunds Issued for 'Fun' and 'Different' Show
Rubber Gloves general manager Chad Withers issued refunds to attendants who requested them. Of 70 tickets sold, Withers estimates he issued 15 refunds. Sutcliffe received $20.“It was fun,” Withers says. “It was a different performance.” Withers videotaped the performance and plans to feature the obscure material on the Rubber Gloves website.
Withers said Pink Ubered to the venue from his hotel in Dallas before the show and his attendance was uncertain until his arrival.
“Everything was pretty chill, happy to have it documented,” he says.
While fans left the venue confused, the reason for Pink’s lack of a musical display has a legal explanation.
Pink was scheduled to play a much larger show at the Granada Theatre the following evening. Most large theaters include radius clauses in their performance contracts, banning artists from performing at multiple venues within a certain radius. Rubber Gloves was not aware of a radius clause before selling tickets for Pink’s performance.
But this is just one page in the book of obscure behavior from Ariel Pink. “Ariel Pink fans are Ariel Pink fans,” Withers says. “They’re used to this. If you know anything about him and his interviews, I’m glad he didn’t say anything.”
Pink’s career has been shrouded in controversy. The latest in a string of scandals came after the artist attended the Donald Trump rally that ended in the infamous Jan. 6, 2021, raid on the Capitol. Pink’s record label, Mexican Summer, terminated its contract following the artist’s public support for the former president.
Coincidentally on the same day, a California court struck down Pink’s pending restraining order against his former bandmate and partner Charlotte Ercoli Coe.
Coe accused Pink of physical and sexual abuse throughout their personal and romantic partnership.
Neither Sutcliffe nor McNeil were avid fans of Pink before they attended the concert, and neither had any knowledge of what was in store for them before buying their tickets.
“It made me so mad after I found out,” Sutcliffe says. “It makes me kind of anxious to listen to and support artists now because I'm like, you shouldn't have to do research every time you want to listen to somebody's music and or go to a show.”
Pink contacted Rubber Gloves to organize the show. Withers did not confirm whether the artist would be welcomed back.
