June 17th,
2002
The Mint
Los Angeles, CA
Review By: Michelle Heidbrink
Not only was Ari’s show at The Mint, his first time playing in Los Angeles, but my first time seeing Ari live! (And it was the day after his birthday – so I was sure to wish him a Happy Belated Birthday!) I was so stoked about the show at the Mint, I actually had to drive 2 hours to get there, but it was well worth the drive. The Mint is an awesome, small little venue in Los Angeles and I totally enjoyed the intimate atmosphere. I swear the capacity of the place is maybe only like 100 people or so. When I got there, the bar was pretty empty and there were some empty tables, with one table right smack front and center, so I pleaded with the guy who was seating us to let us sit at that table and luckily he finally agreed, so I had an awesome view of Ari. I don’t think that there were many Ari fans that came into the show, but I am sure that there were many who left.
Ari sounded amazing! He played an awesome set and I was mesmerized by all the emotion he put into every second of his show. His voice sounded incredible and he can play the guitar like no other. He talked in between songs about his stay in L.A. And I remember he played Caught Up In Your Love and Holding On back to back, because those were two of my favorites at the time. And he also played I Didn’t Want to Say Goodbye and explained the song to us. And he closed with a beautiful version of Hallelujah.
After the show I got to hang out and chat with Ari for a while. I thanked him about a million times for coming to Los Angeles. And he sounded as if he truly enjoyed his stay and would love to come back in the future. L.A. would love to have you back Ari! He was so incredibly friendly and kind to all his fans. He signed my copy of Come Home and I got a picture with him.
It was an awesome night. And I think I listened to Come Home about 4 times later that night. I can’t wait for Ari to come back for some more West Coast/California loving!