pixies tour 2022 review

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Pixies: live in brixton.

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In its arrangement, Live in Brixton is presented as an historical document. All four shows are here, in their entirety, with each night getting split into two discs. Fortunately, the band avoided the pitfall of creating a strict setlist for the tour, so while there’s some inevitable overlap between discs, you don’t get the same show more than once. Furthermore, the live album suits the Pixies as a live act, as they were and continue to be the kind of band that focuses more on sounding good than on providing a compelling stage show, so one can listen to the entirety of Live in Brixton safe in the knowledge that there’s no visual component needed. What’s more, the version of the band that took the stage in Brixton is surprisingly tight, given the limited amount of time they had spent together prior to these shows. After only a few months of touring, the Pixies that perform here arguably sound better than they did at their peak. Sure, anyone who hears bootlegs of the old days will hear a looser, more freewheeling band, but the version of the Pixies one hears on Live in Brixton is tight, professional and eager to please.

Given both how the band sounds and the fact that, as this was a reunion tour, the setlist offers little to disappoint, where could one find fault in this set? Aside from a few minor quibbles (mine being that they insist on playing the UK Surf version of “Wave of Mutilation” every show even though it’s clearly inferior to the original), the biggest problem with Live in Brixton is its comprehensive nature. This is eight discs of reunion shows, with no new material to speak of. Aside from a smattering of covers, this is largely the same songs played multiple times with just a handful of variations in terms of track placement and which songs off Trompe Le Monde they decide to wheel out. One, maybe two discs would be a good live album, a great snippet from this period of the band’s history; a whole box set ends up feeling as exhausting as it is exhaustive with not a whole lot to take away from the experience.

Look, there are probably a handful of Pixies obsessives for whom Live in Brixton will be essential listening. And if you’re one of the people who actually went to these shows, it’s worth checking out if only to confirm that your memories of a fun night seeing one of the greatest indie rock bands ever to perform was as fun as you remember it being. Still, even as it documents the one moment in the Pixies’ career during which there were inarguably good vibes in healthy supply, the sheer monolithic nature of Live in Brixton prevents it from being an essential addition to the band’s catalog.

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Live Review: Pixies @ The Anthem — 6/10/23

Only a handful of bands can truly command the stage like the Pixies do.

Frontman Black Francis and his bandmates were all business in an extraordinary 31-song set recently at The Anthem, where as usual they arrived with no planned setlist and played through selections from their eight studio albums.

That degree of musical agility requires a certain level of authority, wherein the band know their stuff so well that they can simply knock it out at will. And the Pixies most certainly nailed it at The Anthem on June 10, drawing heavily from two ends of their career — seven songs from their most recent album Doggerel (2022) and eight songs from their seminal record Doolittle (1989).

The Pixies played quite a few of the new album tunes in the front end of the concert. The audience was charmed by pleasing, vibrant songs like “Who’s More Sorry Now,” which incorporates some signature Pixies surf rock, and “The Lord Has Come Back Today,” a sunny ode to sharing a new day.

In these songs and others, Black Francis and fellow guitarist Joey Santiago entertained with some hypnotic interplay, Francis filling in the spaces quite nicely between his longtime bandmate’s prominent chords. The resulting melodies have a very lush ’60s feel to them.

Watch the Pixies perform “The Lord Has Come Back Today” live for Band on the Wall via YouTube:

The Pixies began their career in earnest with the release of debut record Surfer Rosa in 1988, and the band consisted then of Francis, Joey, drummer David Lovering, and bassist Kim Deal. Since 2016, Pixies have officially welcomed Paz Lenchantin on bass as Deal’s replacement. I digress, however. Those early songs really resonate, and the Pixies thrilled toward the end of their set at The Anthem with “Where Is My Mind?” From Surfer Rosa.

But as mentioned earlier, it was the sophomore record Doolittle that really put them on the map, and the album today continues to have legs. The Pixies performed *two* versions of “Wave of Mutilation” from the album, by way of example — a standard live rendition early in the show and a UK surf version much later. Talk about giving the people what they want surely, but given that the Pixies come in every night with no setlist, what a remarkable feat of on-the-ground coordination!

The Pixies played Doolittle faves “Debaser” in the middle of the pack and “Here Comes Your Man” in the last leg of the show. The instantly recognizable hit elicited a wave of excitement from the audience as Paz launched it with its distinct bassline. David was loose and groovy on the drums, and his congenial presence really grounded the band throughout the show. The really brilliant surf rhythms took hold of the audience’s soul and Francis’s sweetly agreeable lyrics owned our hearts.

Watch the official music video for “Here Comes Your Man” by Pixies on YouTube:

This remarkable tour was launched in May, and so the Pixies had been on the road for more than a month by the time they arrived at The Anthem. More remarkably, however, the Pixies played the very small room at The Anthem four days earlier, and so the band’s appearance at The Anthem marked their second DC show in less than a week. And The Atlantis setlist was so different, leaning heavily into their 1987 EP, Come On Pilgrim, for instance. Both shows featured a pair of great covers, though — a cover of “Head On” by fellow noise band Jesus and Mary Chain and “Winterlong” by Neil Young, the latter closing out each show.

Francis and his bandmates played to sold-out venues for 450 people and then to 6,000 over their two trips to Washington, DC, and both times slid comfortably into their places. No matter the size of the stage, the Pixies were sure to take command.

Here are some photos of the Pixies performing at The Anthem on June 10, 2023. All pictures by Mickey McCarter.

Pixies: Doggerel review – pristinely produced absurdism

(BMG) The cult indie band may not have the dark fire of yesteryear but they still rock their twisted tropes

T here was no indie band more influential, inimitable and prolific than 1987-91 Pixies. They perfectly mixed the mundane and the profane, the farcical with the galactic, served up depraved powerpop in viscera-dripping, three-minute gobbets. Which is why it was so disappointing when 2010s Pixies abandoned that velvet menace for professional competence on Indie Cindy , Head Carrier and Beneath the Eyrie .

Trailed by their best single in years, Doggerel finds happier concord between conventional rock arrangements and Pixies’ twisted tropes (necromancy, hallucinations, Neil Young). They lose their punkier edge without seeming over careerist. Still, it’s no coincidence that the single, the lupine There’s a Moon On , is the rawest meat on the menu, a thrilling take on classic 50s rock.

Elsewhere the album is becalmed yet pristinely produced, with acres of space for Paz Lenchantin’s spooked harmonies and prowling bass to twine round Joey Santiago’s guitars. Appropriately, Black Francis’s absurdist words are high in the mix (“went to 7-Eleven/ To try and get me straight/ I ended up there in outer space” is peak Pixie). It sounds like comfort, sometimes fun, even as you miss the dark fire they once summoned.

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Pixies Injected Ferocity Into the Performances on “Live in Brixton’

Four sold-out shows from Pixies’ critically-acclaimed 2004 tour are in a stunningly comprehensive box set. The power and snarl of Live in Brixton are undeniable.

When the Pixies reunited for a string of shows in 2004, the entire music world went up in a collective shout of “Shut up and take my money!” Any cynicism about legendary bands hitting the road once more to rake in some easy money went out the window as the heavily influential Boston band played one sold-out show after another. For the most part, Bygones were bygones as Frank Black (aka Black Francis, aka Charles Thompson) and Kim Deal buried the hatchet, teamed up with Joey Santiago and Dave Lovering, and sent millions of Pixies fans home happy.

That June, Pixies played four sold-out nights at London’s Brixton Academy. All four shows are now available for purchase in their entirety, though the pressings are very limited. Whether you spring for the eight CDs or the eight LPs, each show is encoded on colorful discs, and a different band member’s silhouette adorns the cover. The performances were extraordinary occasions for both the band and audience, something that the Live in Brixton recordings can’t hide, no matter the blemishes.

With a fanbase so unconditionally overjoyed at the band’s reunion, the Pixies could have easily played the same set four nights in a row, and no one would have complained. Fortunately, they didn’t do that. Sure, the Pixies only released four full-length albums and an EP during their first run, but that doesn’t stop them from juggling things from night to night. All four shows lean heavily on Come on Pilgrim , Surfer Rosa , and Doolittle for material, but the heavily-covered “Where Is My Mind?” didn’t get played until the second night. The first show, 2 June, starts with a cover of Neil Young’s “Winterlong”, a song only available on his Decade compilation.

There is no stage banter, but Pixies strike hard with old favorites like “Debaser”, “The Holiday Song”, “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, and two versions of “Wave of Mutilation” (those familiar with the band’s b-sides are well-versed with the difference). They begin to loosen up by the second night. Black even talks to the audience, complaining how a recently-pressed compilation omitted the first “Hey!” from the song “Hey”. He sounds like he’s short of breath on “Crackity Jones” and mistakes the introduction of “Is She Weird” as “Gouge Away”. The first two nights end with the b-side “Into the White”, that trippy punk freakout sung by Deal.

By the third night, the Pixies’ onstage momentum is matched by the occasional squalls of guitar feedback. The overlooked roar of “U-Mass” makes its second appearance while “Planet of Sound” closes out the night. Conversely, it becomes more difficult to tell the differences between one rendition of “I Bleed” or “Caribou” from another. Sure, it’s a mark of the band’s professionalism to give the crowd a consistently excellent show night after night, but it also requires the consumer of box sets to divvy up their listening session. And when one performance of “Gigantic” rocks just as hard as the one before it, it’s hard to complain. Besides, Santiago’s improvised noise storms of “Vamos” provide plenty of variety for a band that was never really known for jamming.

Pixies use another cover to kick off their final night, their’ rendition of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On” that initially appeared on Trompe le Monde . Black gets plenty of screaming in upfront and guides the band through their last renditions of “Broken Face”, “Cactus”, “No. 13 Baby”, “Tame”, and a whole host of songs that would easily make up most Pixies fans’ dream playlist. Their final night concludes with another racket-drenched “Vamos”. Santiago reportedly damaged his Les Paul badly during a rendition of “Vamos”, but I can’t make out which one. After all, they played the song each night.

Pixies injected the same ferocity into these shows as they did in the old day, judging from sound alone. Granted, the only thing I have for comparison is the live disc that came with the Death to the Pixies compilation pressed by 4AD in the ’90s. Without having attended either show, I can tell you that the vitality that drove the 1990 show is still intact in 2004. Black doesn’t phone it in, Lovering doesn’t miss a beat, Deal is there for every vocal harmony, and Santiago makes his guitar scream like a man on a mission. Say what you will about the three albums Pixies have released since Deal’s departure – and people have said plenty – but the power and snarl of Live in Brixton is undeniable.

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Pixies, Wellington NZ, 2022

14th December 2022 The Opera House, Wellington, New Zealand

Review by Tim Gruar with photography by Bruce Mackay .

They are back! After lockdowns, re-schedules and resets, to complete unfinished business Downunder playing their debut releases – the electrifying 1987 EP ‘Come On Pilgrim’ and 1988’s debut full-length album, ‘Surfer Rosa’, in their entirety here in the Capital and at the Christchurch show. Auckland, however, will get a different set with songs across the back catalogue and maybe some brand-new tracks from their latest album, ‘Doggerel’.

Tonight’s concert was something of a curatorial exercise. Normally when bands late in their prime return to Aotearoa they are in revival mode, pushing their latest and greatest, when their fans really just want the hit albums of yester-year. So, what happens when the focus is, indeed, on these earlier works, for the most part ignoring new?

There are the memories and undefinable connections we all have with the original recordings. For me, ‘Surfer Rosa’ was the album I thrashed on student radio at every opportunity. I’d squeeze in ‘Where Is My Mind’ or ‘Gigantic’ between songs from Soweto, Flying Nun bands and Inner City dance beats. It was a time of true creative diversity in airplay and Pixies were definitely part of that rich, beer stained sound carpet that furnished my own sonic house at the time.

But before the Pixies, Ōpōtiki/Tāmaki rockers Die! Die! Die! took the opportunity to blow a few cobwebs away with their perfectly blended mix of hi-powered, infectious post-punk noise pop. The band recently toured new tracks from their latest album, so this was another chance to hear them or to get slightly acquainted, in the case of most of the older audience members.

Andrew Wilson delivers with the intensity of a manic street preacher, well supported by the speed demon combo of Lachlan Anderson and Michael Prain flooding the sound of his arc welding guitar lines. He attacks his guitar with drumsticks and throttles it with feedback from his amp, squeezing sonic hell out of every valve.

They blast through tracks like the incredibly stark and alien ‘This Is Not An Island’ and the explosive dark energy of ‘Losing Sight, Keep on Kicking’. There’s the lomping overture ’15 Years’ and the happy-go-lucky cadence of ‘I seek Misery’. ‘Disappear here’ and ‘8 Months in A Lighthouse’ are the standouts, as much for their drama as their music. And then there’s the obscurely referential ‘Vanish (but That’s My Home Town, Marcus)’, which, I think, is about talk radio commentary and small town bigotry. They complete on a track they’ve only aired live once before called ‘Smelter’. This intensely assaulting noise reminded me of Bailter Space live in their early days.

Die! Die! Die!’s music is just as viceral, complex and brutal as the Pixies in their fledgling years, a veritable tidal wave of controlled, yet chaotic cacophony. A perfect opener, almost as if there was a time machine and one band was transformed to the time of the other to share the stage. And guess what? Here we are, witnessing this in the flesh.

In contrast to their music Wilson is polite and whimsical. “In all our 19 years as a band, we’ve never played to a ‘sit down’ concert before.”

Yes, the weirdness of the venue wasn’t lost on us as the mixed ages of parents, grandparents, even, and kids of kids shuffled in on all levels of the Opera House. It was a sell-out capacity. But this was a concert for everyone at every place. I saw couples, groups, out to party, a hen’s night crew, at least one group of old flatmates reliving experiences and even a dad and young son team.

Before we start in earnest, there’s a short doco up on the big screen that spans the back of the stage, narrated by the bands long time collaborator Vaughan Oliver, who passed away in December 2019. Oliver produced the artwork for the Pixies’ entire discography during his lifetime, including ‘Come On Pilgrim’ and ‘Surfer Rosa’, as well as numerous singles and EPs. In the movie he tells us anecdotes around how artworks, like how the photo of the topless flamenco dancer on the ‘…Rosa’ cover came about. This was a staged photo in an upstairs room of a pub, made to look like a scene from the Old West.

The movie finishes and the band come on to an orchestral arrangement of ‘Where Is My Mind’.

“Welcome to the Opera” . Black Francis announces their intentions for the night and they kick into an intense and high-sonic version of ‘Pilgrim’s’ opening track, ‘Caribou’ complete with 12-foot-high images of two deer drawn in black and white.

But the images will change, constantly, flashing up reminders of Oliver’s work from all of their albums and videos, even the lights turn on and off, focusing here there and everywhere as if the lighting operator is actually a stray cat high on catnip rolling about the desk with wild abandon.

Unlike many recordings of the time Pixies’ debut EP, ‘Come on Pilgrim’, was smashed together quickly, cobbled together hastily from a cheap demo. The infamous ‘Purple Tape’ recorded over six days, and funded by Black Francis’ Dad, at Boston’s now legendary Fort Apache studios not long after they’d got together as a group. Shopped around also in haste, Ivo Watts-Russell from label 4AD took a punt on it, releasing 8 songs as an ep.

And it’s easy to see why he loved it. Right here you get the band’s essential, core ‘sound’ – a widely used template with Francis’ manic screams, rants and stutters; David Lovering pounding away on the kit; Joey Santiago playing spikey, nagging riffs on guitar, and Kim Deal’s plodding bass and sugary fly paper voice. ‘Pilgrim’ was fully formed when it surfaced, yet still had enough chaotic energy to feel at least a little bit DIY/Punk. Take the twisted brain gnarler “Ed Is Dead”, a sort of surfer girl love song. It wants to be a typical pop song but goes out of its way to self destruct. All over this ep you can hear influences from the band’s peers like Violent Femmes, The Stooges, Lou Reed and Husker Du. Played tonight, it’s a punk song for sure. The players may have a few centimetres on the tooth but the energy still remains young and angry.

There’s plenty more hard-core in there, too. Like “I’ve Been Tired,” which has been considered as a surreal response to romantic rejection and sexual frustration. Francis almost sighs his delivery. Above him random snatches of his song compete with the actual lines he’s singing, provoking a confused response, at least.

And then there’s the perplexing “Isla de Encanta” – which I always thought was Tatoo’s song from the 80’s show ‘Fantasy Island’. Turns out it’s waaaaay cruder.

All over the e.p. you get spooky, sci-fi themes toying with theatrical imagery. Francis was inspired at the time by movie makers like David Lynch, so his lyrics were uncomfortable and nervous – dark sexual fetishes, obsessions with death and religious extremes. All of this blended in with a dark sense of humour and brazen obscurity. To newer audiences the lyrics can either unnecessarily offend or wash over without any impacts on the listener. On “Caribou” we are urged to “Reeeeepent!” , coming at you like at baseball bat to the head. Yes that line gets headlighted on the screen. Of course it does!

The e.p. is bookended by “Levitate Me” which pilfers a line from Christian singer Larry Norman: “Come on pilgrim, you know he loves you!” It also becomes the album’s tag line. And up it comes, in cartoon form on the big screen. Throughout this e.p’s performance fragments of lines will appear and reappear light ghosts. This is the animated version of what Oliver had envisaged for a book of photography he produced for the band’s box set a while back.

Then you get these weird, hard to figure out blasts like “The Holiday Song” and “Nimrod’s Son” – both, I read later, are voyeuristic, an uncomfortable look at incest, or at least unhealthy family relationships. There’s a line in ‘Nimrod’s Son’ that still creeps me out: “My sister held me close and whispered to my bleeding head/You are the son of a motherfucker” – which Francis and Lenchantin shout to the gallery like possessed banshee-demons, grinning all the way.

In comparison to later albums and e.p.’s, ‘Pilgrim’ still sounds raw and unnerving. Live, it has levels of nuance that you miss on the recording – body language, self checking, smiles, nods and of course the audience reaction. With songs not meant for today’s #MeToo audience it was a fascinating experiment.

Then there’s the band’s debut full length album ‘Surfer Rosa’, which was also made in a hurry. Recorded in just 10 days at the end of 1987 it was a ferocious effort that completely reinvented alternative rock, with a long reach, inspiring Radiohead, Smashing Pumpkins, Bowie, Radiohead, Nirvana and heaps more. Reviewers have called it a work of melodic intoxication and ‘visceral brutality’.

Again, the subjects are also unsavoury – incest, venereal disease, sexual conquest and extreme violence. Then add Catholic repression smashed against a wall of abandoned flamenco, chaotic surf punk and thrash. It takes most listeners multiple attempts to find their way in to acceptance. It’s not an easy listen, that’s for sure.

Francis and Santiago destroy the rule book on guitar playing, matching up song structures with uneasy melodies. Like ‘Bone Machine’, with its stop start approach, almost like someone forgot to write the arrangements for the bridge. Or ‘Gigantic’ which wants to be a pop song but just can’t face the limelight. Then there’s the churning of guitars on ‘Where Is My Mind?’ offset by these ridiculously immature lyrics about Caribbean swims and little fishes. But the band are no slacks, the solo on the song is unusually played with notes from the B minor pentatonic scale, layered over a succession of major chords. An intelligent yet unconventional approach, almost showing off, on purpose.

‘Bone Machine’ comes almost as relief in contrast to the songs on ‘Pilgrim’. The audience leave their seats and rush to the front. They sing at the top of their lungs, lost in memories and its quirky melody structure. ‘Where is my Mind’, of course gets the biggest sing-a-long.

Albini had fun on this album, too encouraging the guitarists to use metal picks, or running Francis’ vocals through his distortion pedals, Kim Deal’s vocals on ‘Gigantic’ were done in the bathroom to get an overly bright sound. Snatches of studio conversations are left in, like a moment when Francis tries to finish Deal’s sentence and is misunderstood claiming he wanted to ‘kill her’.

Tonight Lenchantin sings Deal’s part on ‘Gigantic’ and the audience helps her out – not that she needed it. She nails it!

Lyrics get really uncomfortable almost in defiance: “horny loser/ you’ll find me crashing through my mother’s door” on ‘Break My Body’ or a breathless charge of aggression and despair on ‘Something Against You’, or a mocking disintegration of the feelings of teenage isolationism on ‘Broken Face’. Somehow this song seems more rushed tonight, more punk. And loud, too.

The album’s pace is relentless and frantic. Live, it must be emotionally and physically draining to perform. You need ‘Gigantic’ with its sweet melodies to calm down and rest a little… Then the onslaught returns. ‘Cactus’ implores a lover to “bloody your hands on a cactus tree / Wipe it on your dress and send it to me” . We all sing along despite feeling like we are somehow encouraging a serial killer to carry on their good work. Performed live, I almost believe this to be a soft, sweet blues ballad, but I can’t hep being a little unsettled by the lyrical overtones.

Santiago has not lost his skills for one-note riffing, as he burrows away on ‘Oh My Golly!’. ‘Vamos’, like the album version is drowning in a squall of bone shaking feedback. He tortures his golden guitar, squeezing sound out of it like the remains of a toothpaste tube.

I’ve just realised that I haven’t actually mentioned Black Francis’ performance. That’s because he’s so svelte and quiet in his performance, as if the songs were channelling through him. Other band members are respectful performers, too. Simply put, they are present and engaging. Francis seems to be trying to take up as little space as possible. He makes the biggest splash, yet so quietly with his vocals and body language doing all the work.

Lovering, too, is on fire, so accurate and, at the risk of using the word again, visceral in his execution.

The album done, Lovering looks up from his drum kit and checks his watch. Time for a few more.

So, they pound through a selection of newbies and oldies including ‘Gouge Away’, ‘Wave of Mutilation’, ‘Tame’, ‘Planet of Sound’, ‘a sparking version of ‘Here Comes Your Man’, a face melting rendition of the Jesus & Mary Chain’s ‘Head On’ and a sublime cover of Neil Young’s ‘Winterlong’ with yet another mesmerising solo from Santiago.

It was a long time coming but I’m glad they did. Pixies are truly a phenomenal live act and well worth the price of admission – now and in your memories – and live is the best way to see them. By the end of the night you need to leave by the escape hatch before the theatre explodes. And don’t blame us if you wake up with unexpected residues on you dinner jacket!

Were you there at The Opera House for this brilliant alt-rock gig? Or have you seen the Pixies perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Isla de Encanta
The Holiday Song
Nimrod’s Son
I’ve Been Tired
Levitate Me
Bone Machine
Break My Body
Something Against You
Broken Face
River Euphrates
Where Is My Mind?
Tony’s Theme
Oh My Golly!
I’m Amazed
Brick Is Red
Wave of Mutilation
Head On [ The Jesus and Mary Chain cover ]
Planet of Sound
Here Comes Your Man
Winterlong [ Neil Young cover ]

Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.

If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page .

Pixies: O2 Forum, London – Live Review

Pixies | The Pale White O2 Forum, London 16th and 18th March 2024

Pixies brought their Bossanova/Trompe Le Monde tour to London, spending three sold out nights on the same stage as they appeared almost 36 years ago, when it was the Town And Country Club. Naomi Dryden-Smith was there for two of the three nights.

First up is support in the form of The Pale White from Newcastle, who open with last year’s single How Far Can You Push A Man, firmly smashing their rock stake in the ground with singer Adam Hope’s Kurt Cobain-style vocal, driving bass, psyched out groove and classic rock riffs with more than a helping of grunge. Tom Booth’s bass on That Dress is immense, a song it’s impossible to keep still to, and Taste The Sun is an addictive blend of random things like Tubeway Army, Oasis and generic American rock. (I stick it on as soon as I get home.) The true highlight of this set has to be Jack Hope on drums, who is basically more Keith Moon than Keith Moon. Great band, look forward to hearing more.

This tour sees them playing through third and fourth albums Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde in their entirety, never done before, and as a result several songs get their first airing in many years, or at all. Up there with Surfer Rosa and Doolittle, Bossanova puts a persuasive foot forward for being Pixies’ best album – and certainly one where almost every song is great. Trompe Le Monde, Pixies’ poppiest album, is patchier – it has moments of heavy influence of Jesus And Mary Chain (and that’s beside the straight cover of Head On), alongside more forgettable tracks that don’t seem to plumb Pixies’ usual depths. But it also has U-Mass (Smells Like Teen Spirit anyone?), arguably one of their very best.

Hearing Bossanova in its entirety is a dream for many Pixies fans, and the band sets about punching through each short track with barely a pause for breath in between, in usual Pixies style. Curious eyes are on newly appointed bassist Emma Richardson, formerly of Band Of Skulls, who slots in efficiently and effortlessly. There’s no big introduction, but there are smiles through the set and later on Francis gestures to her in thanks as the crowd applauds the end of the show. But first there’s work to be done as we are pelted with the likes of Velouria, Allison, Hang Wire, The Happening, Rock Music, Dig For Fire, endless great songs. Francis is in great voice, and seems to especially lose himself in Stormy Weather. At times the lighting effects and smoke rising behind David Lovering make it look like he’s literally on fire.

Trompe Le Monde sees a change in sound and pace – the songs are less contemplative, more immediate and aggressive (Planet Of Sound, Alec Eiffel, The Sad Punk are a relentless bombardment for nine or so minutes), written at a time of turbulence for the band. Live, the inescapable Jesus And Mary Chain influence on songs like Palace Of The Brine and Bird Dream Of The Olympus Mons is even more obvious. This album also does much to showcase Joey Santiago’s guitar skills, with his signature twangs followed by intense shredding, and there’s a lovely solo from Richardson. The album finishes with the wonderful Motorway To Roswell, a regular feature in their shows these days, followed by The Navajo Know, before this tour not played since 1992.

Throughout the tour Pixies have performed an encore of different classics for each show: on Saturday it’s Vegas Suite, Wave Of Mutilation, a slowed down Nimrod’s Song and, last but not least, Here Comes Your Man; and then on Monday it’s Vegas Suite, Here Comes Your Man, Hey and ending on Wave Of Mutilation – Here Comes Your Man getting the biggest cheer on both nights.

Hold my head We’ll trampoline Finally through the roof (finally through the roof) On to somewhere near And far in time

UK Summer Dates

20 Aug O2 Academy Glasgow (sold out) 21 Aug The Piece Hall, Halifax (sold out) 23 Aug All Points East 2024, London 24 Aug Victorious Festival 2024, Portsmouth 27 Aug Galway Summer Sessions, Ireland 28 Aug Custom House Square, Belfast, Ireland

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Review: Pixies prove potent and primal in set packed with fire and fury at Auckland Town Hall

Darren Bevan

Watch: David Lovering and Joey Santiago of Pixies talk to The Project ahead of their Wellington gig. Credits: The Project NZ

REVIEW: It took 90 minutes for Black Francis, lead singer of Pixies, to acknowledge the Auckland audience who had traipsed through one of the muggiest nights of the year to see him and his surf-rock troubadours.

Unfortunately, it was in the form of a farewell wave and smile as the group take a curtain call and bow at the end of the gig at Auckland's Town Hall - one that leaves the fans satiated, but many disappointed, desperate for more.

But then in their entire history Pixies have never been known for their on-stage banter.

The closest the Auckland crowd gets is a series of manic grins and occasional waves from bassist Paz Lenchantin during various songs and powerhouse guitarist Joey Santiago doffing his cap early on.

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There's a difference between showmanship and craft, and in truth, in the 33 years since this reviewer first had his mind blown by their live performance at a muddy Midlands venue in the UK where the floor was sticky with beer, the band's never changed their ways. It's always been about the wall of sound, the shredding of the guitar mixed with obtuse lyrics and the occasionally chilled out surf-grunge vibe of their music.

The Boston foursome led the alternative music scene in the late '80s, with lyrics dealing with incest and thwarted religion sitting alongside sci-fi obsessions. Influencing the likes of Nirvana, the band's refusal to play the game endeared them to millions of fans, and their indie anthems secured their legacy.

Back in New Zealand after COVID-19 nearly scuppered their 2020 experience, they've lost none of their fire - and seemed more determined to make up for years of lost gigs.

Opening with an extended lead into 1989's 'Gouge Away', Francis, drummer David Lovering, Santiago and bassist Lenchantin are assured from the start. The crowd consisted of both older fans and people who clearly wouldn't have been alive when Doolittle was released.

However, judging by the guy bizarrely throwing shapes up in the rafters of the Town Hall when Surfer Rosa cut 'Break My Body' played, the frenzied pogoing during 'Gigantic' and the teen girls screaming along with Francis' primal roar during 'Monkey Gone To Heaven', there was universal unity in what Pixies were selling.

Throwing in hits from Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa, Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde , the band had an excessive back catalogue to dig deep into - and in truth, 90 minutes felt a lot longer than it was. That's not a criticism - more due to the fact Pixies' songs are little more than 3 minutes apiece. Mixing in the usual combination of Francis' banshee-like wailing, Santiago's ferocious guitar, Lovering's powerhouse drumming and harmonies in the least expected of places, they all provided short punky bursts of bluster on vinyl.

Live, the songs have lost none of the punch - even if it appears in parts like Francis was holding back on some of the snarling vocals, or perhaps unable to reach some of the primal edges he once ferociously roared.

Gold and blue lighting bathed the stage during 'Monkey Gone To Heaven', turning to a vicious red when Francis' vocals reached the iconic "Then the Devil is 6" refrain. Bossanova 's 'Blown Away' saw the band lit in blue, and yellow spotlights danced as 'Hey' was tossed into the crowd.

While Pixies have been playing these songs since 1986, they've lost none of the frivolity of their experimental furiousness, even if the structure's been tinkered with.

Turning Surfer Rosa 's anthem 'Nimrod's Son' into a softer version of its original scabrous self is a masterstroke, moving the song into almost operatic territory as Francis slows down the words once previously dispatched with an almost vicious edge.

It's in the band's earlier music that the crowd comes to life though, and nostalgia proved to be the winner on the night.

While cuts from 2022's Doggerel showcase a more mature sound post their reformation, combined with the band's more laid-back lyrical and melody-driven storytelling, 'Vault of Heaven', 'There's a Moon On' and 'The Lord Has Come Back Today' all left the crowd somewhat restless and itching for more Doolittle heyday.

And Pixies were keen to reciprocate the lust for the likes of 'Debaser', 'Here Comes Your Man', 'Gigantic' (complete with Lenchantin's lead), 'Dead' and a bustling version of 'Planet of Sound' tossed out into the audience like musical scraps for a frenzied feeding.

Dealing out two versions of 'Wave of Mutilation' in different parts of the set, Pixies' loud-quiet-loud style of songs all led up to a blistering version of 'Where Is My Mind', with Francis stepping back during the chorus to let the audience take on the vocals. Even the audience members who'd got out their lighters during the song's refrain were left alone by security to simply enjoy the communal moment.

With no two sets the same, the second night at Auckland - and then Christchurch - will be an entirely different musical experience. They know exactly what they're doing and how to gear up the audience and bring them along for the journey.

What remains constant about the Pixies' concert experience is their awe-inducing capacity and energy. For a band that blazed so brightly back in the late '80s and '90s, they've lost none of their fire as a live act; one that not even the Auckland drizzle could dampen as the evening came to a close.

'A treat for the diehards' - Pixies at Albert Hall Manchester reviewed

"This show, first and foremost, was about digging deep into the stranger corners of the Pixies discography"

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2024 marks twenty years since Pixies first reformed, meaning that they’ve been recording and performing during this second act for nearly three times as long as they did first time around.

That first, glorious seven-year run between 1988 and 1993 saw them cement a place on the indie rock pantheon as one of the most influential guitar bands of the late 20th century, with a flawless run of four four critically acclaimed albums, but was also marked by the dysfunction and creative tension that would see frontman Black Francis break up the group live on BBC Five Live, only confirming the news to his bandmates via fax later on.

This second life has largely been a much more serene affair, or at least it had been until last week. Just days before kicking off this tour in Dublin over the weekend, Pixies announced that they had split from bassist Paz Lenchantin after ten years, with the news taking fans, the press and - apparently - Lenchantin herself by surprise. Further information on what led to the decision has not yet been forthcoming, although perhaps such a throwback to the tumultuous latter days of the band’s original run is fitting given that this tour, for the first time, sees them playing their third and fourth records in their entirety.

READ MORE: Glastonbury lineup divides opinion as some say 'worst of all time' after headliners confirmed

These albums, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde , are revered by Pixies fans and most music critics alike, even if they are perhaps not quite held in the regard of the two records that preceded them; both Surfer Rosa and Doolittle are seen as seminal indie rock works.

What tonight reminds us, though, is how fearless Pixies were at that stage of their career; both records are littered with curious, daring choices, like the fact that Bossanova opens with a cover of ‘Cecilia Ann’ by The Surftones, a band who’s influenced can be traced throughout the Pixies catalogue; it sets the tone for a record defined by its nods to melodic poppiness, from the the searing indie rock of ‘Velouria’ to harmonic earworms like ‘Is She Weird’.

They fire through it at breakneck pace, as has become routine at Pixies shows; frontman Black Francis takes only the occasional pause to address the crowd, reserving his vocal energy for the back half of the set, which sees a subtle change in backdrop, from the planets that adorn the cover of Bossanova to the eyeballs from the artwork to the night’s second album, Trompe le Monde .

It’s here that they really come to life; more than thirty years after its release, it remains a delightfully weird and consistently furious record, suffused with the raw punk energy of cuts like ‘U-Mass’ and ‘Planet of Sound’; there’s also a scintillating cover of ‘Head On’ by The Jesus and Mary Chain, who will play their own multi-night stand at this venue next weekend. Many of these tracks, especially curios like ‘Palace of the Brine’ and ‘Subbacultcha’, don’t normally get near the setlist, making this show a treat for the diehards.

Some of the songs are being dusted off for the first time in decades, but the band are as tight as ever, with Emma Richardson of Band of Skulls a steady stand-in for Lenchantin, although the sheer joy that her predecessor brought to her performances is a hard thing to replace. A quick-fire three song encore revisits Surfer Rosa and Doolittle and ends with a full-throated singalong of the classic ‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’, but this show, first and foremost, was about digging deep into the stranger corners of the Pixies discography.

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By Stephen Thomas Erlewine

October 4, 2022

Doggerel marks an important milestone for Pixies , the pioneering alternative rockers who swapped their mercurial charms for dogged reliability as they aged: It is the fourth album from the reunited lineup, matching the number of full-lengths the band released at its youthful peak in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Nothing about Doggerel sounds youthful. The band relies on chops instead of accidents to thrill, favoring production that’s clean, burly, and without a lick of grit—a sound that moves with the weight and deliberateness of middle age. Pixies choose to embrace the slowing of their step, using it to accentuate the way leader Black Francis chose refinement over exploration as he learned to sneak his idiosyncrasies into familiar song forms.

The seeds of Doggerel lie in a genre exercise. Francis had been stockpiling original tunes written in the vein of 1950s country music with the intention of cutting an Americana album with Bobby Bare Jr. , a latter-day member of Guided by Voices who once toured with his own Pixies tribute group. Tom Dalgety, the producer and engineer who has been behind the band’s boards since Head Carrier , plucked “ Human Crime ” from the stash and had Pixies transform it into a bouncy little number that felt looser than Beneath the Eyrie , the 2019 album in which the Kim Deal -less incarnation of the band finally found its footing in the recording studio.

“Human Crime” doesn’t appear on Doggerel, yet it served its purpose: It freed Black Francis from the idea that there was a division between the songs he wrote for himself and those he penned for Pixies. He followed this notion throughout the entire first decade of the Pixies reunion, releasing six albums during a period where Kim Deal held firm to her stance that the band shouldn’t record new material. Once she left, eventually to be replaced on bass and vocals by Paz Lenchantin, Pixies immediately started making records that suggested maybe Deal was right to believe the band should’ve stuck to oldies. Indie Cindy and, to a lesser extent, Head Carrier buckled under the weight of a band attempting to live within the confines of its legacy: They spent their time hitting marks, pretending to be the group they once were.

There may be no surprises on Doggerel but, crucially, there’s no pandering, either. The band sounds at ease, even agreeable, as middle-aged rockers. Black Francis never attempts to strain to replicate his trademark wail; Joey Santiago’s guitar squalls are controlled and colorful. David Lovering lays down a thick backbeat that allows Lenchantin just enough elasticity to suggest a hint of a groove. It’s recognizably Pixies music but it’s broader, bigger, and slicker: It’s the alt-rock Voodoo Lounge , the record the Rolling Stones released some 30 years after their debut.

Like the Stones, Pixies survive because they’re road warriors, playing old favorites for audiences who consider themselves lucky to finally hear “Where Is My Mind?” performed live. Pixies operate at a much smaller scale than the Rolling Stones, of course, and modesty is also crucial to Doggerel . Once purveyors of dadaist rock, Pixies now opt for craft, constructing sturdy songs whose appeal lies in their directness. There’s little hidden here: “There’s a Moon On” gallops forth with nocturnal urgency, and “Who’s More Sorry Now?” has the vaguest hint of melancholy to its titular phrase. Black Francis—who, in a first on a Pixies album, is joined by Joey Santiago as a co-writer on two songs, the shimmering, jangly “Pagan Man” and churning “Dregs of the Wine"—writes simply and cleanly, skills honed over the years where he was leading the workaday combo Frank Black & the Catholics. As much as those first fumbling Pixies reunion records, those journeyman Catholics albums demystified the image of Black Francis the yelping madman as he resolutely settled into the limits of a working band. That same sensibility is evident on Doggerel yet the very presence of the rest of Pixies brings the album color and a bit of verve, elements that give the songs a bit of a lift. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that Pixies are now an outfit built for comfort, not speed—a group that’s found its personal sweet spot and is content to linger there.

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Pixies at 3Olympia Theatre, Dublin

Article Published: March 11, 2024

Friday 8 th March 2024 was a night of firsts. It was the first night of the European leg of alternative rock legends Pixies ’ tour. It was the first time the band would play albums ‘Bossanova’ and ‘Trompe Le Monde’ in their entirety. It was also the first time bassist Emma Richardson performed with the band, replacing Paz Lenchantin, whose departure or dismissal is a subject of public debate.

Never the less, after an energetic turn by supporting act The Pale White, the band would take the stage with the sort of nonchalance that can only be credited to generation-long perfected professionalism, or genuine jovial feeling. Pixies have never been world renowned for their stage banter but Black Francis reflected fondly upon the LA sessions that birthed these collosal additions to their back catalogue, before getting right into it.

For her part, Richardson demonstrated nerves of cold steel, keeping her head down and playing her part, filling the sweet vocal spaces left behind by Lenchantin and her predecessor Kim Deal with ease on tracks like Velouria , Allison and Dig For Fire with ease.

For the others, it was business as usual. The band kept it tight, playing to an unfathomably full 3 Olympia Theatre against a backdrop of that iconic winged “P” logo and a wall of orbs that changed in colour from the terracotta red of the globe that adorns the cover of ‘Bossanova’ to the blue pupil-less eyes on that of ‘Trompe Le Monde’.

Even veterans have an off-moment, though, as drummer Dave Lovering reminds us when launching into Dig For Fire a track early. That momentary hiccup aside, though, the band were on top form, Francis even allowing himself to dance and smile while his right-hand man Joey Santiago manipulated feedback in between the angular wails he has become beloved for.

While hearing the less heralded albums of the Pixies’ classic first run in their entirety was a treat in itself, the band sent the crowd home with a parting gift. Not keen to indulge in the pantomime disappearing act favoured by many of their peers, the band would launch right into Wave Of Mutilation after a brief pause that followed “ Trompe…” closer The Navajo Know. After a snippet of Cactus , the band would play with tempo changes on Nimrod’s Son , before indulging the crowd karaoke session with the weird pop of Here Comes Your Man .

Finishing with the folkish dirge of Caribou , the band would end the night arm in arm and take a well-earned bow. It was a stellar evening, despite the last-minute drama, and a great preview for the “Mark III” line-up.

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Pixies concert reviews and tour history

rating: 96% (7)

Fans' concert reviews

Zeleste in barcelona, spain on mon, 10 jun 1991.

I was 22 years old and It was my first time in BarcelonaI. I remember I had just arrived at Barcelona airport and on my way to the youth hostel in which I was booked I saw the adverts of the Pixes concert playing that night, supported by the Killing Joke. As soon as the bus stopped by the ram las, I looked for the record shop where I could buy the ticket. I had no idea where the venue was, but it didn’t matter. I soon found out that it was miles and miles away from the city centre. The concert was amazing. Killing Joke were at their best, but The Pixies, oh my God, they were absolutely outrageous! I was standing just in front of the stage and had such a great time. I should have some photos of the event somewhere, but don’t have a glue at the moment. I loved them already since 1989 when I saw them playing live at the Town & Country Club in Kentish Town, London, but after Barcelona The Pixies have become my favourite band!

Kulusic in Zagreb, Croatia on Tue, 23 May 1989

Amazing and absolutely thrue ...

Jack Cincinnati Casino in Cincinnati, US on Sat, 16 May 2015

Great setlist mix of old and newer tunes. Brought back a lot of great memories. Death to the Pixies!

Drinks were WAY over priced, but Frank soothed my head.

Great show, even in the rain.

Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada on Thu, 09 Oct 2014

What a killer show, holy crap!!!

Rated concerts

Burton Cummings Theatre in Winnipeg, Canada Thu, 09 Oct 2014 100% from 1 rating
Kulusic in Zagreb, Croatia Tue, 23 May 1989 100% from 1 rating
Zeleste in Barcelona, Spain Mon, 10 Jun 1991 100% from 1 rating
Jack Cincinnati Casino in Cincinnati, US Sat, 16 May 2015 90% from 3 ratings
Orpheum Theatre in Vancouver, Canada Mon, 17 Feb 2014 90% from 1 rating

Ratings View all

one of the best: 3 43%
fantastic: 4 57%
great: 0 0%
disappointing: 0 0%
should've stayed at home: 0 0%

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Pixies 2024 tour dates view all, pixies tour history, about pixies.

Pixies is a group founded 38 years ago in 1986 in Boston, US.

Based on our research data, it appears, that the first Pixies concert happened 38 years ago on Mon, 01 Sep 1986 in Jack's Lounge - Boston, US and that the last Pixies concert was 11 days ago on Wed, 27 Mar 2024 in L'Olympia - Paris, France.

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Pixies Announce Second Leg Of Nother American Tour

Photo by Travis Shinn

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Today, alt-rock icons Pixies announce the addition of Leg Two for its 2023 North American concert tour. With many dates on Leg One already sold out, Leg Two launches on June 8 and will see the band headlining in venues from Boston to Ohio to Texas, as well as making a special appearance at Bonnaroo on June 18. Also announced, the Scottish rock band Franz Ferdinand, and American indie rockers Bully will be Special Guests on all Pixies’ Leg Two headline dates. Confirmed shows for Legs One and Two are below; tickets for Leg Two go on sale Friday, February 3.

All North American dates are in support of Pixies’ latest album, Doggerel (BMG), and are part of the band’s 2022-2023 World Tour that launched last Spring and has seen the band playing to sold-out headline shows throughout the UK, Europe, South America, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Confirmed dates for Pixies’ North American tour are as follows:

4 Fox Theater, Oakland, CA

6 Golden State Theatre, Monterey, CA

8 The Van Buren, Phoenix, AZ

9 Lensic Performing Arts Center, Santa Fe, NM

10 The Mission Ballroom, Denver, CO

12 Encore Theatre at Wynn, Las Vegas, NV

13 Encore Theatre at Wynn, Las Vegas, NV

12-14 Kilby Block Party, Utah State Park, Salt Lake City, UT (Festival)

8 MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Boston, MA

9 The Met, Philadelphia, PA

10 The Anthem, Washington, D.C.

12 Kemba Live!, Columbus, OH

13 Stage AE, Pittsburgh, PA

14 Andrew J. Brady Music Center, Cincinnati, OH

16 Red Hat Amphitheater, Raleigh, NC

17 Rabbit Rabbit, Asheville, NC

18 Bonnaroo, Manchester, TN

20 Coca-Coca Roxy, Atlanta, GA

21 The Fillmore, New Orleans, LA

23 Bayou Music Center, Houston, TX

24 Southside Ballroom, Dallas, TX

25 Moody Amphitheater, Austin, TX

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Pixies to play ‘Bossanova’ and ‘Trompe Le Monde’ in full at UK and European residencies

The tour will kick off in Spring 2024

Black Francis of Pixies performs at The Van Buren on May 08, 2023

Pixies have announced a new UK and European tour, in which they will celebrate their ‘Bossanova’ and ‘Trompe Le Monde’ albums.

READ MORE: Pixies – ‘Doggerel’ review: still the alt-rock gold standard

The tour is set to kick off in Spring 2024, and will see the alt-rock icons perform their third studio album ‘Bossanova’ (1990) and follow-up ‘Trompe Le Monde’ album (1991) in full.

‘Bossanova’ was introduced by the singles ‘Velouria’ and ‘Dig for Fire’, and marked the first LP following the success of their hit second album ‘Doolittle’ . It also was the first to feature no songs written by bassist Kim Deal, as she formed her other band The Breeders around the time it was written.

‘Trompe Le Monde’ arrived the following year, and featured four singles: ‘Planet Of Sound’, ‘Alec Eiffel’, ‘Letter To Memphis’ and ‘Head On’. Like its predecessor, it also contained less contributions from Deal than seen in the first two LPs, and marked the band’s final studio album, before their subsequent break-up two years later.

Starting with three back-to-back live dates in Dublin’s 3Olympia Theatre on March 8, 9 and 10, the four-piece will then make stops in Manchester — for a three-night residency in the Albert Hall between March 12 and 14 — and another three-night stint in London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town between March 16 and 18.

The UK shows will be followed by three nights in both Amsterdam (March 20-22) and Paris (March 25-27). Tickets for all dates go on sale this Friday (June 9) at 9am local time and will be available here .

“I’ve never been that prepared for a recording session in my life. This time I felt like: ‘Jesus, it’s been two years since we last got together and this is what? Our fucking 100th album or whatever the fuck? I thought I owed it to the band and the producer to come up with some goods,” frontman Black Francis said.

“We’re getting better at what we do,” he added. “Gradually over the years we’ve been building up different kinds of muscles and we have a cosmopolitan sophistication that we’re able to tap into on this record more than we’ve been able to before. We’re able to get a little more cinematic.”

In other Pixies news, earlier this year the band apologised to fans after it was discovered that their hit 1988 song ‘Where Is My Mind?’ was turning off some people’s morning alarms on their phones.

“For the past few months, I could not figure out why on random days, with seemingly no reason, sometimes my alarm would either not go off, or turn itself off very quickly,” wrote one Redditor affected by the issue.

“Well this morning, I woke up about 5 minutes before my alarm went off, and I have cracked the code,” he added, proceeding to explain that the device he had contained voice-recognition software, which interpreted Francis’ exclamation of ‘Stop’ in the track to be an instruction to turn off any scheduled alarms.

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Pixies – Summer Tour 2022

The American band Pixies will perform on Monday, June 27, 2022, starting with 9.00 pm, at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, in the Cavea amphitheater, in Rome . The concert is part of the Roma Summer Fest 2022 .

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Pixies is an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Boston, Massachusetts. The current lineup of the band features Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar), David Lovering (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Joey Santiago (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Paz Lenchantin (bass, violin, vocals).

Their debut studio album, Surfer Rosa , was released in 1988. The band’s second album, Doolittle , was released in 1989, and their third album, Bossanova , in 1990. Trompe le Monde , the fourth studio album of the band, released in 1991, was the final album before their subsequent break-up two years later.

The band reunited in 2003, but their fifth studio album, Indie Cindy , was released only in 2014. Their sixth album, Head Carrier , was released in 2016, and their seventh album, Beneath the Eyrie , in 2019.

THE FESTIVAL

Roma Summer Fest is a music festival produced by the Musica per Roma Foundation in a unique venue – the Auditorium Parco della Musica, designed by the great architect Renzo Piano.

The lineup for the 2022 edition of the festival includes names like Lorde , Skunk Anansie , Deep Purple , Michael Kiwanuka , Simple Minds and LP.

Auditorium Parco della Musica represents a complex of halls dedicated to music, designed by Renzo Piano and completed on December 21, 2002. The Cavea is an open-air amphitheater in the heart of the Auditorium, which can accommodate up to 3,000 spectators.

Auditorum Parco della Musica is located in Largo Luciano Berio, in the northwest of Rome. The closest bus stop is De Coubertin/Auditorium , located about 110 meters away, on the bus Lines 53, 168, 910 and 982.

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