Date: Saturday, January 21, 2012
Line up: Mike Pinto Band
Location: DiPiazza’s. Long Beach, CA
In the heart of Long Beach, California, Mike Pinto Band kept the crowd roaring and asking for more up until last call. On the second night of the Truth Serum Tour, Mike Pinto Band played all the favorites, hit songs from the new The West is Still Wild EP, and a couple brand new songs!
Located at DiPiazza’s Restaurant and Lounge, the local venue is home to great pizza, awesome live shows, and great community of people. With locals like Mic Dangerously of Zen Robbi and Ian McGrath of The B Foundation in the crowd, it was a night for the reggae-rock community to get together and jam to an awesome lineup. With five bands warming up the stage for Mike Pinto Band, or 
MPB, the venue was packed with Pinto fans of all ages.
With such a strong tie in the music community and getting bands names out there, DiPiazza’s welcomes the Long Beach bands to their stage. Rock band I Can’t Tell You and Indie Punk Rockers, High Fidelity started the night off right. Both bands representing that Long Beach sound, got the crowd pumped for The Originalites. Only about 20 minutes south of the venue, The Originalites played that ska, punk, dub vibes that got the crowd dancing. With direction from their label at 17th Street Recording, the band played an awesome set of musical fusion with rockin’ sax solos from Michael Belk.
From Los Angeles, rock band Life Down Here took the stage with their awesome lead vocals and guitarist, Michelle Blanchard. Brewfish was up next with some awesome Long Beach dub. Another local band of the night formed in 2011, Brewfish really got the crowd going with new songs such as “Radio.” Brewfish got the positive vibes flowing with dance numbers and free music available for fans to take home and enjoy.
With a crowd stocked with Pinto fans, Mike Pinto Band hit the stage at 12:05am. After a Truth Serum Tour special intro for the fans, the band went straight into “Bad Luck.” Fans of course singing loudly along with Mike, were stoked to hear them continue on with “West is Still Wild.” From the new EP, the sick song got the crowd jumping and head banging to the reggae-surf tune.
After a sold-out previous show the night before in San Diego, Mike commented on how awesome it is to start the tour off at the band’s favorite venues – Winston’s in SD and DiPiazza’s in Long Beach, the 2 venues depicted in his West Is Still Wild EP Cover-Art. The band played a new song, “Too Experienced” showing the awesome storytelling abilities that everyone just loves about Mike Pinto. Another new addition to the set list, “You Belong to Me” debuted on Saturday night featuring awesome guitar riffs, bright bass played by Matt Brien, and Todd Elrod rockin’ on the drums. Trumpet and keys player, Max O’Leary also joined the guys on stage to play the keyboard for the new tune.
“Temptation,” “Cool and the Deadly,” and “Addictions” popped up on the set list to be followed by “Feet Don’t Fail Me Now” from the new EP. Josh Molle joined the band on stage with his amazing skills on the trombone, as Max rocked the trumpet for this song.
With a request from the fans, “Tricky Nicky” got the fans going crazy, dancing and moshing around the floor. With roars for more, “Full Speed” kept the momentum high. With a wave of his drumstick, Todd got the fans pumped to mosh around the front of the stage. A fan favorite song, the Pinto followers were stoked to finally rock to the classic hit.
“Backburner,” “Chilean Lover,” and “Bill’s Song” closed out the night but not without ska dance moves, mosh circles, and a surprise “Bill’s Song Part II” for the crowd.
Mike Pinto Band came to town with sick guitar and vocals, talented horn section, and pounding bass and drums. The band will continue on the Truth Serum Tour next Saturday in Yuma, Arizona. Mike Pinto told The Pier that he is looking forward to linking up with old friends and meeting new people while on tour and of course having a kick-ass time!
– Article By: Alyssa, Torres
– Photos By: Amanda Graziano
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