In case you forgot, Pixies album Doolitle turned 20 (Happy Birthday!). To celebrate the band decided to hit the road, playing the album in its entirety along with other classic Pixies cuts. This was the first of four nights in New York for the Pixies and they started off with a bang. Black Gold was the opener for the evening, although originally it was supposed to be Bad Lieutenant.
Pixies set started off eerily quiet. The lights went down and the crowd cheered. The members of the band didn’t step on the stage just yet, in their place was the silent film Un Chien Andalou produced by Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali. The silent film is a surrealistic beauty, combining a free association of events, much like a dream. Images are tangled together and you can forget about chronology. The film provided plenty of inspiration for the band, including the lyrics for “Debaser”.
After the film, the crowd knew the time was coming. As the band set foot on stage, the crowd erupts and the Pixies kick into a series of B-sides. “Dance the Manta Ray”, “Weird at School”, “Bailey’s Walk”, and “Manta Ray” were played in rapid succession with some banter and greetings. It was the appetizer to the entree, as soon as the last riff of “Manta Ray” ended, Doolittle began.
“Debaser”, the opener of the album, was the first song and instantly recognizable to all the fans in attendance. The band sounded great and there have been changes over the twenty years but what still stands out is the sheer urgency of the Pixies’ music. There is an immediacy and hellbent determination by the band to get this sound to you. The lyrics are still beautifully imagined and strange with twisted imagery and sexual tension.
Black Francis’ yelps, wails, and screams are still potent today (although I’m sure someone will say they were better the first time around) and Jorge Santiago’s searing guitar lines are beautiful daggers of sound, constantly prodding and always infectious. The rhythm section of Kim Deal and David Lovering were tight, Deal’s bassline slinks around and Lovering’s drumming was at times intricate and in the forefront and other times supporting the chaos.
Check out more great videos at AllBearsRule’s Youtube channel
Hammerstein was at capacity, the floor looked absolutely packed. Barely any space to move around, every area of the place seemed to be filled by a warm body. If you did not want to be shoulder to shoulder to your neighbor, you picked the wrong concert. As hard rocking and as lively as the music is, the crowd seemed somewhat subdued. Everyone knew the words and knew all the twists and turns of the music. The loud/soft dynamic acts a natural roller coaster ride. Naturally there was dancing and periodic bouts of jumping around, but rarely was there significant body flailing (although there were a couple of rowdy folks on the side dancing their ass off the entire time).
The set list was very easy to follow, and the band cracked a couple of jokes here and there. Deal would joke about “b-sides” or the song being the last song “of Side 1!”. The pacing was very fast as well, rarely were there any down moments. Fan favorites like “Wave of Mutilation”, “Here Comes Your Man” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven” were met with thunderous applause. As engaging as these tracks were, the other moments off the album were allowed to shine including “I Bleed”, “Mr. Grieves” and “La La Love you”.
More of the review after the jump.
As great as it was to watch the band perform the songs, the visual component was artful and very well thought out. Each song off of Doolittle had a companion video to further the mood. The visual ranged from pictures of the band, the lyrics of the song, to surreal little vignettes, one of which included a man with a burlap sack over his head hanging himself.
As the album was slowly winding down towards a finish, for most people, it came way too quickly. The grand “Hey” was followed by “Silver” which inevitably led to the album closer “Gouge Away”. The end was delightful with a rousing finish and fans barely getting their fill. As the band took their curtain call, their likenesses appeared on the big screen playfully hanging around and hamming it up. When the image soon departed the first encore began.
The UK Surf version of “Wave of Mutilation” was the opener for the first encore. This slowed down version plays like a hazy dream. It’s nostalgic and is as slow as sludge, which adds to the charm. Next up was “Into the White” and the fog machine was kicked into overdrive. The fog covered the band and little could be seen, Deal’s voice came calling out like an echo long lost. The second goodbye was shorter than the first but the wait was longer.
The fans kept a good pace at clapping and cheering for a second encore, after all “Where is my Mind?” still was yet to be played and the house lights were not turned out just yet. The cheers were answered as the band kicked into “Isla de Encanta”. The song had a tempo cranked to ten, giving fans whiplash as it rushed past. “Nimrod’s Son” enthralled the crowd, offering all the quirk and charm we’ve grown to love. Finally the moment everyone had been waiting for, “Where is My Mind?” fill hit and a massive sing along followed. As if it wasn’t enough the pleasant and joyous “Gigantic” closed the first night of the Pixies stay at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
It was an emphatic ride and I enjoyed every second of it. The sound of the Pixies on this night was a showcase to their enormous influence on indie rock. A varied mix of young and old, some who have seen them multiple times and some seeing them for the first time, the Pixies will always be a staple in the world of indie rock.
Pixies @ Hammerstein Ballroom 11/23/09 Set List
“Dancing The Manta Ray”
“Weird At My School”
“Bailey’s Walk”
“Manta Ray”
“Debaser”
“Tame”
“Wave of Mutilation”
“I Bleed”
“Here Comes Your Man”
“Dead”
“Monkey Gone to Heaven”
“Mr. Grieves”
“Crackity Jones”
“La La Love You”
“No. 13 Baby”
“There Goes My Gun”
“Hey”
“Silver”
“Gouge Away”
Encore 1:
“Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)”
“Into the White”
Encore 2:
“Isla De Encanta”
“Nimrod’s Son”
“Where is My Mind”
“Gigantic”
Before the Pixies, Black Gold played a brief set. One of the best aspects of the band sort of worked against them. The band as a whole was extremely polished, maybe too polished. Each song hit the right cord and they had a nice range of sound. The 4-piece band had some angular riffs and nice keyboard arrangements. The lead singer had a particularly strong voice. The best song of the set was “Breakdown”.
More photos of the Pixies
 
