Echoplex: Ariel Beesley with Suzie True and Pink Sock

It was Ariel Beesley's 28th birthday party at the Echoplex. I was sick and coughing, but I didn't want to miss this night. She literally kicked her way through her birthday. She did 4 or 5 high kicks. Some of those kicks ending with her foot higher than her head. There was a little help in terms of keeping her balance with the microphone stand, but I'm still not sure how she didn't lose her balance with at least one of those kicks.

Ariel Beesley

Early in the set, the audience spontaneously sang Happy Birthday. And towards the end of the set, Pink Sock brought out a cake for her, which sent her into tears. It was a tender night that was highlighted by her brilliant music the talks about heart break. She mentioned that she always looks for a man who will love her like she should be loved. She said she came to a realization that her friends in the audience provided her with that love.

Opening up the night was Suzie True. I had just seen them 3 weeks earlier at a small DIY venue called Sun Space. I also first caught them at The Smell. It was a revelation to catch this punk pop band on the much larger stage of the Echoplex. I did notice at the other two venues how this band liked to put on a show, but on a larger stage they were able to do so much more. Like with Ariel Beesley there were high kicks. They also were able to do much more jumping and stage movements without ending up against the edge of the stage.

Suzie True

Pink Sock came on after Suzie True. I remember catching this band for the first time at Echo Park Rising 2018. I was shooting for Buzzbands and was rushing from venue to venue. I was in the middle of heading to another venue, but noticed all these people jumping out of Ubers and such and running into Little Joy. I figured that must be a good sign so I went in to catch the band. Flash forward to 2020, and I finally caught the smooth jazz sounds of this band for the second time. To close out their set, Ariel Beesley jumped on stage and danced from the first note to the last note.

Pink Sock