Although I missed the Pixies smaller shows in NYC last fall, I made it up by catching them last night at the beautiful Capitol Theatre up in Port Chester. It was surreal to catch the band live, something that I never thought I would actually get to do. But the moment finally came, and boy, was it great.
L.A. punk rockers FIDLAR, who I haven’t seen since they opened for Wavves at Shea Stadium last year, opened the show. Last night was an impressive showing from the band, whose usual wild antics were toned down a bit, probably out of the prestige and respect that comes with an opening slot for the Pixies. Even so, they managed to do their thing, sledging through their rock tunes with a fiery & youthful punk edge that had the (mostly) older crowd rocking with them. It was an impressive opening set that proved to me that FIDLAR are for real.
Pixies sold out crowd was wild with anticipation for the band’s arrival. When they finally came on stage the theater erupted as they launched into opener “Bone Machine” which was followed by “Wave Of Mutilation.” An epic start to the night, for sure. Paz Lenchantin, the latest touring bassist in the revolving post-Kim Deal door, was a very solid fill-in and fit in just fine. No surprise as she’s a seasoned vet whose played with acts such as A Perfect Circle and Zwan. Pixes were eager to please, playing a breathtaking and unreal 31-song set that included everything that a Pixies fan would want to hear.
Frontman Black Francis led the charge with a confident and cool performance, looking enthused to be sharing all of his classic rock tunes with all of us. The crowd shared his passion, shouting back the words to nearly every song. Highlights included “Monkey Gone To Heaven”, “Mr. Grieves”, “La La Love You”, “Debaser” and of course, “Here Comes Your Man” and “Where Is My Mind?” It was pretty special to get to hear the latter two live, putting all the years of worship into one wonderful live moment.
No one in attendance could find any reason to be disappointed with the memorable performance that the band left us. Even at 31-songs long, the show breezed on by because every song was just as excellent as the last. They don’t make them quite like the Pixies anymore. It’s always a treat to see a real rock show like this, a reminder of the bands greatness. It also reminds that there’s hope out there that someday we will find more great rock bands that we can someday hold in the same esteem.
Below you can find photos of both Pixies and Fidlar, as well as the Pixies setlist:
Pixies:
FIDLAR:
Setlist:
1. Bone Machine
2. Wave of Mutilation
3. U-Mass
4. What Goes Boom
5. Isla de Encanta
6. Monkey Gone to Heaven
7. Brick Is Red
8. Magdalena
9. Cactus
10. Dead
11. Crackity Jones
12. Ana
13. Mr. Grieves
14. Distance Equals Rate Times Time
15. Head On (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
16. The Sad Punk
17. Caribou
18. Snakes
19. In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)
20. Andro Queen
21. Ed Is Dead
22. La La Love You
23. Here Comes Your Man
24. Vamos
25. Indie Cindy
26. Greens and Blues
27. Where Is My Mind?
28. Gouge Away
29. Debaser
Encore:
30. Hey
31. Planet of Sound
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