Cheerleaders, men in diapers (one of them covered in blood) and a clown with a mohawk making balloon animals. That was the scene on the stage last Friday night.
All of that, and there was also a rock band — , one of Denver’s legendary locals from the late ‘80s/early ‘90s — tangled up in there somewhere, celebrating a reunion after nearly two decades of separation, in front of a packed and ecstatic house. Nothing strange about that lineup, at least not if you’re familiar with the Pinchers’ history.
And it seemed like nearly everyone in the venue was intimately familiar with the band and their antics, and came prepared to wow and be wowed. The show was just as much a reunion for fans as the band, as all but one of whom were original members.
Front-duo King Scratchie (Dan Wanush) and K. C. Kasum (Andrew Novick) — both of whom are still Denver residents, and active participants in the Denver music scene — were joined by EE-Rok (Eric Erickson) on bass, DD-Rok (Derek van Westrum) and 3KSK (Mark Brooks) on guitars and the Melvins’ Dale Crover on drums, replacing their well-worn (and now erased) drum machine.
After two satisfying sets by local bands Dressy Bessy and Murder Ranks (Dan Wanush’s current project — and for my money one of Denver’s most exciting and innovative bands), Pinchers let the crowd’s anticipation build for almost an hour, and then exploded onstage, blazing with their funk-meets-metal-meets-rap. They hit all the highlights from shows past, including “I Hate Mimes Real Real Bad,” “Jesus on a Urinal Cake,” “Where The Hell Is Crispin Glover,” “Confrontation Yeah Yeah” and of course the (near anthem) “Morrissey Rides a Cockhorse,” before diving into a long live remix of “I Think We’re Alone Now,” Tiffany’s 1987 mega hit, scenes from a kung fu film and then some.
Their performance throughout was super-tight, furious and fun. They owned the venue from start to finish, and played like they’d never left — like the last 18 years were just a momentary pause. Kasum and Scratchie bounced the vocals easily off of each other, screaming hilarious commentary and jumping around as if they were no older than 19 or 20, while the rest of the band kept up at an incredible pace, half the time joined by two of “Satan’s Cheerleaders,” Sindy and Mindy, and Grant Chitwood in clown face.
At the height of the set Scratchie and the band’s early bassist were stripped down to nothing but diapers, when Scratchie hit something and began bleeding profusely from the top of his head. A true performer, he didn’t leave the stage to be bandaged mid-song, but did allow Chitwood the clown to hold a towel on the wound.
The perfect image of pure bedlam closed their show, Scratchie covered in blood and diapered, getting first aid from a clown.
I can’t imagine a more fitting image to close out their history, either.
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Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s explorations at , and his giglist at .
Joe McCabe is a Denver photographer and a regular contributor to Reverb. Check out his .
