There's a reason I'm not a music writer.
While I live for the stuff, my ability to describe what I hear runs the gamut from "that kinda sucked" to "that was fucking amazing." Lacking the intricate knowledge and niched vocabulary of someone who can actually tell the difference between New Wave and post-punk, I'm completely unqualified to evaluate my musical experience when a show comes to town. So I've banned myself from doing it.
But I'm breaking my own rules this time, because the Pixies were just that good.
The iconic foursome, who legends like Kurt Cobain and David Bowie credit as inspirations, recently stopped by Napa's Uptown Theater to play their breakout record, 1989's Doolittle, from start to finish. It was their second-to-last stop on the second leg of their "Doolittle World Tour," which began two years ago to commemorate the album's twentieth anniversary.
You know how sometimes, watching live music, you forget where you are? And you just drown in the sounds as they bubble up inside you? And you can act like a complete idiot and dance and scream and sing along and get completely lost? And you're overwhelmed by feelings of utter joy? The Pixies put on that kind of show.
It was simply remarkable, from start to finish. In a musical climate overrun with electronica this and synthesize that, it's refreshing to know good, old-fashioned alternative rock can still be brought to life. (And moderately depressing to think of alternative rock as "old-fashioned.")
Or as my brother observed afterwards, "Rock is dead. But you can still see some of the bands that were making it when it was alive."
The Boston-born band decided to spend the second incarnation of the "Doolittle" tour playing only secondary markets, and watching the set unfold in the intimate Uptown setting, glass of local Pinot in hand, was a real treat. "I don't know if we've ever been here before!" bassist Kim Deal exclaimed giddily at the beginning of the show.
And for an outfit plagued by decades of infighting, breakups and clashes of creativity, their energy remained surprisingly palpable from start to finish. Frontman Frank Black's signature high-pitched yowl sounds just like it did in the 80s -- maybe even clearer. The group seamlessly made its way through all the big hits, from the upbeat, poppy "Here Comes Your Man" and the silly, jazzy "La La Love You" (the only song ever penned by drummer David Lovering) to the biblical shout-ballad "Hey" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven," an early nod to environmentalism.
The quartet kept things surprising by beginning the set with a handful of B sides, including "Dancing at the Manta Ray" and "Bailey's Walk." They closed out the night with an encore of more classics, including two of my favorites, "Caribou" and the popular end-of-Fight-Club anthem "Where Is My Mind?" An array of video clips, arranged by longtime Pixies lighting designer Myles Mangino, beamed behind them as they played, projecting footage that ranged from a happy animated heart to 1920s film noir.
So there you have it. Readers in the Bay Area and beyond who like live music and other awesome things: Go see the Pixies the next time they come to your town. You won't regret it.
In the mean time, whet your musical appetite with images from the "Doolittle" tour below (and a few of my favorite songs thrown in for good measure):
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Do Kim and Charles talk to each other again?
Circa 1964 The British Invasion broke out from England and Rock was alive, and it broke out again from San Francisco in 1967, but by the mid seventies it seemed Rock was dying and disco was taking over.
Circa 1976 Punk broke out from Manhattan clubs and London and Rock was alive, but by the late eighties is seemed Rock was dying and over produced miasma pop was taking over.
Circa 1991 Grunge broke out from Seattle and Rock was alive, but by late in the first decade of this century it seemed Rock was dying and American Idolish techno pop was taking over.
continued
I noticed the periods between break outs have increased. The first was ten years, then 12 years, then 15 years and now at least 20 years. This is so because as the genre goes on there is more old music for real rockers to turn to as current music seems to be dying. Thus an article like this celebrating the Pixies from 1989 before the music they pioneered broke out. In 1989 the biggest grossing tour was the Rolling Stones playing old music. It's happening again. We're ready for the next breakout.
Long live Rock!
Circa 2012? Something will break out and Rock will be alive. Where will it break out? I predict somewhere in middle America, maybe Kansas City. People are making vital and down and dirty rock in garages and small clubs and one of these days it will sweep the country and revitalize everything.
I love the Pixies and Bowie
Is she part of this tour?
Caught the Trompe Le Monde tour show out in Ventura. Took some acid and drank some beer before the show and who should come strolling down the sidewalk all by himself? David Lovering! At first i thought it wast the acid.
Anyway, when they broke into their Jesus and Mary Chain cover of "Head On," I was thrilled and a little scared at the same time since the crush of bodies and moshing actually lifted me off my feet for a brief moment.
That's rock.
Radiohead keeps pushing back the boundaries with consummate musicianship, but they've gone so far with experimentation and blending in electronic and other influences that it's hard to call what they produce "rock" any more. The Foo Fighters burn brightly as the spiritual successors to grunge, and the very excellent Muse seem intent on becoming the 21st century's Queen. But all of these bands date back to the 1990s.
If you haven't already, check out Arcade Fire and Metric from Canada, both excellent, creative live acts and studio musicians.
Classical music has taken over my life in the past five years or so, so it may be that I'm simply not plugged in to the rock scene any more. But there's not a lot that I hear from that genre these days that truly impresses me.
(Yeah, I know, you could say the same thing about the Stones, and possibly The Who)
Plus the fact that they existed long before the term "emo" was coined. Oh, and the fact that "emo" is just a sub-genre of rock music too. (And rock is a sub-genre of pop music.)
Pixies are a rock band.