Chicago is one of the greatest cities to live in, IF you can afford to go out and experience all of its many offerings. Unfortunately, during the mid-nineties I was a career college student, and therefore perpetually broke. Being a bit of a book-nerd, I found myself haunting the many used bookstores in the city, and eventually being employed by a few of them. This is how I made beer money: slinging used books. This is also how I came to know and love The Pixies. We played the fuck out of Doolittle and Surfer Rosa. Despite the imagery that is conjured by their name, The Pixies are alt-rock giants who have influenced generations of musicians through the years, during the grunge and post-grunge era, and continuing into the present day.
Now, twenty-some years later, I find myself in another great city, Kansas City, Missouri. The venue is the beautiful Midland Theater in downtown KCMO, which has a capacity of 2500 persons, and was built in 1927 at a cost of $4 million. It is filled with ornate wood carvings and filigree in Italian and French Baroque style, accentuated by several breathtaking crystal chandeliers. Recently dubbed “The Arvest Bank Theater at the Midland”, it will forever be “The Midland” to any Kansas City dweller. Sadly, historical theaters like this one are no longer made, and this is one of my favorite venues in which to attend live performances.
CULTS
Tonight’s opening act was the New York-based indie pop band, Cults. Formed in 2010, Cults is comprised of singer Madeline Follin and guitarist Brian Oblivion, who tour with various supporting band members. The songs are light and airy with a glimmer of darkness thrown in for fun. For example: Go Outside flows with a melody that makes you want to hum along. Reinforced by light shimmering glockenspiel lines, the song gives the impression of innocence; however, it begins with an audio quote from infamous cult leader Jim Jones:
“To me, death is not a fearful thing. It’s living that’s treacherous.”
And so there are moments in Cults’ songs where interesting juxtapositions of light and dark keep my attention focused on the music. Madeline Follin really has a beautiful ethereal voice which shines on some of the other highlights in the short set, such as the somber retro styling of You Know What I Mean and the upbeat I Can Hardly Make You Mine. I was pleasantly surprised by this band. Cults have a new follower.
THE PIXIES
After a rather lengthy intermission, The Pixies take the stage. From the first few beats and entrance of the bass line of Bone Machine, I am transported back to a time that was much less complicated, before the crushing weight of the world found a resting place on my shoulders. I’m partly joking, of course. Life is good, and the Pixies’ music has always represented that in my mind. Solid beats, a driving bass in the bottom end, and straight forward guitar riffs without any unnecessary obfuscation mucking things up. The songs are short, and to the point, reminding me of the minimalism and economy of sound of the punk era. Wave of Mutilation came second, followed by U-mass, and with each song the crowd continued to respond with fresh energy as the band pulled out hit after hit in 2-3 minute bursts.
The Pixies currently are comprised of three out of four of the original members. Black Francis owns the vocals and rhythm guitar, while Joey Santiago takes main guitar duties, and David Lovering keeps the time with a solid beat. Standing in for original bassist, Kim Deal, is current touring bassist Paz Lenchantin. Lenchantin comes from a long list of gigs including A Perfect Circle, Zwan, and the Entrance Band.
The Pixies don’t really have a setlist on this tour, but instead switch things up at every performance, drawing from their extensive discography, basically playing whatever they want whenever they want. The setlist for tonight was well over thirty songs. See setlist below.
Monkey Goes to Heaven is a crowd favorite, with many people dancing in the very limited empty space around their seats and aisles. This was followed by the dreamy and otherworldly Ana. Next up was Brick is Red and I’ve Been Tired, which paved the way for a newer number off of EP2 named Magdalena featuring some tasty fuzzed-out bass lines and lots of great delay on the guitars.
I’ve always loved Gouge Away, as I am drawn to the darker aspects of The Pixies and Frank Black’s voice has always walked that fine line between light and dark. Sandwiching Gouge Away was yet another new one off of EP2, this time Blue Eyed Hexe was the pick.
Followed by the frantic Crackity Jones and heavy-hitting The Sad Punk, the band has got the audience’s full attention. This is some of my favorite Pixies material, as I am a child of the punk and metal eras and have always loved the energy of those styles.
Yet another great song, this time going back to the Bossanova album, the audience recognizes and responds to the first chords of Velouria, with Paz Lenchantin flawlessly covering the backing vocals. As much as I like the fact that the band continues to create new music, I really enjoyed that the set contained so much of their classic tunes, the ones I listened to in my twenties, still finding relevance in my forties.
Bringing the energy down a notch, the band breaks into Havalina, also off of Bossanova. This helps set the pace for what is probably one of the most recognizable Pixies songs, Where Is My Mind? Yeah, it’s that song from the end of FightClub, but it has been one of my favorites long before the movie made it “popular.” With its slow, swaying pace, and its haunting background vocal, it has always been, in my opinion, a sobering look at the post-modern world, filled with empty heads and lives turned upside down.
Moving forward the band breaks into the upbeat Here Comes Your Man, and the crowd is back to its energetic and bouncy self…and the aisle-dancing continues. After a few songs from Come On Pilgrim, including The Holiday Song, the band ended the main set with Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf).
Putting a proper end to an already incredible set, the band came back on for a round of encores, starting with Debaser and then going into Planet of Sound to end the night. The Pixies left the stage to a resounding roar from this Kansas City crowd. As I left the venue and walked out into the bitter February cold, I was once again reminded of the world around me, and that familiar weight found its old resting place back on my shoulders.
“this ain’t the planet of sound, this ain’t no rock and roll town
this ain’t no fuckin’ around, this ain’t no planet of sound.”
SETLIST:
- Bone Machine
- Wave of Mutilation
- U-Mass
- Head On – (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
- Distance Equals Rate Times Time
- What Goes Boom
- Isla de Encanta
- Monkey Gone To Heaven
- Ana
- Brick Is Red
- I’ve Been Tired
- Magdalena
- Cactus
- Gouge Away
- Bagboy
- Blue Eyed Hexe
- Crackity Jones
- The Sad Punk
- Velouria
- Havalina
- Snakes
- Silver Snail
- In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)
- Andro Queen
- Indie Cindy
- Greens and Blues
- Where Is My Mind?
- Here Comes Your Man
- Vamos
- Nimrod’s Son
- The Holiday Song
- Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Encore:
- Debaser
- Planet Of Sound
CHECK OUT THE LIVE PHOTO GALLERY FROM THE PIXIES’ SHOW IN KANSAS CITY HERE!
There’s still a few weeks to catch the Pixies on their North American before they head over to Europe and beyond. Check the tour schedules, get tickets and stay up to date with Pixies at pixiesmusic.com and the links below.
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Read the new interview with Joey Santiago in the February/March RockRevolt Magazine! Click the cover to open…
