Without the Pixies much of rock music would probably sound different today. Radiohead and Nirvana, whom both released genre redefining albums, site Pixies as a major influence on their music and both Cobain and Yorke have noted that their bands wouldn’t have existed without the Pixies. Anyone attending a Pixies show can hear why the band is so important. They are currently touring in support of their newest album Head Carrier with their new permanent lineup, which includes the original member and Paz Lenchantin replacing Kim Deal on bass and vocals.
On this tour the Pixies are eschewing the traditional set list and instead have a catalogue of about ninety songs rehearsed and Black Francis tells the band what songs they are going to play next on the fly. After taking the stage to The Beatles’ “You Know My Name (Look Up The Number)” the band launched into “Magdalena 318” from 2014’s ill received Indie Cindy, which was probably a good place for a track from that album as the crowd was so excited to see them that they didn’t seem to care what song was being played. The crowd didn’t have to wait long to hear old favorites as the second song was “Caribou” from their debut release Come On Pilgrim. After launching into “Bel Esprit” from Head Carrier, the rest of the night struck a balance between playing older songs and tracks from the new album.
A nice dose of tracks from Doolittle found their way into the set throughout the night, which saw some of the greatest reactions from fans. “No. 13 Baby,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven” and “Hey” found most in attendance singing along at the top of their lungs. And when Francis and Co. launched into “Where Is My Mind?” from Surfer Rosa in the later half of the show the crowd went wild and many had to decide whether singing along was worth ruining their video recording they were doing on their phone. The thirty song set wrapped up an epic back-to-back-to-back serving of Doolittle favorites. After playing “Debaser” and “Wave of Mutilation”, the crowd could be heard commenting that it couldn’t get any better and were quickly proven wrong as the band closed with “Gouge Away.”
Though many in the audience have never listened to a new Pixies song since 1990, the Pixies continue to sell out shows all over the world. Given the legacy of the band it’s not difficult to see why. Because of their influence on so many contemporary bands their music continues to be timeless and it’s easy to imagine that songs they released two decades ago could easily come out today. Any self-proclaimed fan of rock music owes it to themselves to catch the Pixies live at least once in their life.
