Seminal band Pixies played the final stop of a straight three-night stretch at the small El Rey Theater in Los Angeles Wednesday evening, to a packed crowd. A surprising mix of youngsters, barely old enough to have been a thought when the band’s last LP was released and older heads, most sporting more than a smattering of grey hairs, lapped up a barrage of almost back-to-back favorites for a little over 90 minutes.
Any lingering doubts about Kim Deal’s replacement, the aptly-named Kim Shattuck, were swiftly dispelled for the audience, as she consistently had the most verve among her cohorts, forever grinning to the audience, head-banging and bouncing about her station.
The rest of the band, meanwhile, started off giving out an aroma of a band going through its paces, but the longer the night wore on, the more respect they commanded. Joey Santiago started off slow, but like a snowball cascading down a freshly-powdered slope, picked up speed and power the longer the night wore on, a particular highlight being a dominating solo at the end of “Wave Of Mutilation.” Black Francis (or Frank Black) proved from the off that he can still hit the high notes and continued the trend for the duration of the show. If you closed your eyes, you would never have guessed the man’s age. The words “he’s still got it” must have passed more than a few lips outside the venue. Hell, we even saw a hint of a smile aimed at Joey at the start of “Wave Of Mutilation,” so he must have been having fun up there. Drummer David Lovering, looking every inch not a rock-and-roll drummer, completed the fine musicianship of the band, as energetic as a man 20 years his younger.
The quartet blasted through a set comprising of many fan favorites, including “Monkey Gone To Heaven,” “Bone Machine,” “Caribou” and “Vamos,” all of which received stomping mosh-pits by way of approval, plus three of the four new songs showcased on the recently-released EP-1, “Andro Queen,” “Indie Cindy” and “What Goes Boom.” While the audience may not have lapped these up as resoundingly, the new material easily slipped into place with the old, more than likely leaving a few folks wishing they had managed to get themselves in the studio a few years ago. That said, the band’s influence in countless other genres could be felt throughout; it was easy to see why they are such a well-lauded group. Testament to their genius is their ability to take someone else’s song and make it sound flawlessly like their own; their cover of The Fall’s “Big New Prinz” could have fooled the uninitiated into thinking it was an old record which may have influenced a young Josh Homme when writing some Queens Of The Stone Age tracks.
Even after blasting through over 30 songs, without an encore, they still managed to leave the audience baying for more, missing out notable favorites like “Debaser”, “Cactus” and “Here Comes Your Man.” They played for over 90 minutes; it was a roller-coaster whirlwind that felt like 10 minutes, but when you take stock of the night, it was a hell of a performance, as solid as you’re like to see. From here it’s onto The Mayan, Riot Fest this weekend in Chicago, a few nights in New York, then a tour round Europe. I hope Europe can keep up with them.
Set List
Subbacultcha
Bone Machine
Break My Body
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Blown Away
Bagboy
Indie Cindy
Brick Is Red
I Bleed
River Euphrates
Mr Grieves
Isla de Encanta
Caribou
Havalina
Velouria
What Goes Boom
Wave Of Mutilation
Gouge Away
Hey
Silver Snail
Motorway To Roswell
Big New Prinz
Planet Of Sound
I’ve Been Tired
Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Winterlong
Vamos
In Heaven
Andro Queen
Where Is My Mind
Greens & Blues
(Courtesy of http://www.setlist.fm)
By Marv Watson
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