Show Date: November 13, 2009
The Pixies look like four accidental rock stars. No flash. Joey and Kim in black. Black Francis and David in everyday wear. This show is an adopted hometown show for Black Francis. Maybe we’ll get a little somethin, somethin extra?
After everyone is ready, Kim steps to the mic. And says.
“B Sides”. And away we fucking go.
“Dancing the Manta Ray” and “Weird at My School” hit. And then, Kim again.
“More B Sides”
“Bailey’s Walk” and “Manta Ray” follow.
And that is when I want time to suddenly slow down. Because it is going by way too fast and I’m in the front fucking row of a Pixies show! Like an asshole, before the show, I jacked my shoe up on the stage and took a picture of it. I like to think the drum tech there is amused.
We are about to hear Doolittle in its entirety. You fired up? I am. I know my buddy Chris next to me is.
Alot has been written about the Pixies. Their influence on Nirvana, and their undisputed place in the canon of rock and roll. The mix of fast-slow, soft-loud, surreal-interpretable lyrics, male-female vocal. Whatever. Pixies are cool. And unique. Can’t be duplicated. DO NOT COPY.
“Debaser” goes off and we are into Doolittle. And. You know how in life sometimes, you want something to be really, really good? So you kind of make it good even when it sucks? Fucking hell. So glad I don’t have to do that, because it is really awesome!
Joey is your left. Black in the middle. Kim is your right. We are in front of Kim. Love Kim Deal. Love, love, love. Here’s the thing about seeing them live that I didn’t know. Kim runs the show. Off mic she was trying to get Black’s attention. “Black!” Ignored. “Black!” Ignored. “Charles!” Black Francis looks up immediately. On mic she called him Charles the rest of the night. And she kinda busts his balls constantly. In a cute way. “Do your kids like that song, Charles?” “Is your mom here tonight, Charles? Hi Charles’ mom!” “Who here is from Charles’ family? Meet the sister, her friend…”
Kim also guides you through the night. Introducing “B Sides”, “More B Sides”, “Deep Cuts”, etc. At one point she reminds us “We are almost done with the first side, right?” And really weirds me out when she refers to Doolittle as a “record”. Kind of reminds you that this thing is frigging 20 years old. Which means you are….um, old? Nah. Fuck that. Let’s do some marketing jujitsu on that shit. Classic. Fuck yeah.
Back to the show.
Joey seems very shy and reserved. Just so calm. Kim rocks a perma grin. The way she attacks her bass lines with such joyful abandon can’t help but make you happy. She’s the only one drinking during the set. Heineken. Did I say I love Kim Deal? Charles tonight is killing it. Leaning into the mic. Totally into it. The vocal on “Monkey to Heaven” is the fire.
Such a fun night. I keep typing cause I just don’t want to say goodbye to it. So awesome.
Okay. Every song is a highlight. But. “Here Comes Your Man” is taken to another level live. I wanted to bang my head on the stage during “Tame”. “No 13 Baby” is one of my favorite Pixies songs ever, so seeing that live goes in the mental scrapbook. The set ends with a killer version of “Gouge Away.”
First encore is “Wave Of Mutilation” and “Into the White”. Wave is the slower “UK Surf” version that is easily found on the Pump Up The Volume Soundtrack. So excited for the second encore. What are they going to play from other albums? Huh? Huh? Please play “Vamos”. I want to see it!
Second encore. Everyone comes back with a Heineken. “Gigantic”, “Nimrod’s Son”, “Isla De Encanta”, and closes with “Where Is My Mind?”. With Kim’s oooooooohwoooooos burned into my head I leave totally happy. Full circle. Chris and I heard “Where Is My Mind?” at Black’s solo show in August. I still remember him saying at that time “Kim Rocks.” Actually they all do. In their own inimitable ways.
“Vamos” can wait. Always good to have an itch.
I have to admit being a little worried about seeing this show. Fuck yeah, I was going. Please. But hard not to get jaded after seeing so many acts dicking with their legacy. You can just hear the business meetings where albums are equated to assets to be leveraged to maximize return. Fucking barf. While all that may be true, seeing that type of buzzword bullshit translated to the stage sucks. I’m sure some people who paid to see The Cult this time around will testify. But this wasn’t that. As a fan, I couldn’t have asked for more.
Well. C’mon. “Vamos”. Right?
Oh yeah. I got to shake Kim and Joey’s hand at the end of the show. Fucking killer.
