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By the time Nirvana had come to fame, the Pixies had already come and gone. They never really did get all that much recognition at the time, but retrospectively they’ve become somewhat of a must-have for anyone with an ear for alternative music.
Tonight saw them return to Glasgow after 18 years – their last trip in 1991, where the stage collapsed after only a few songs.
Despite that, there seemed to be no desire to shed any light (literal light) on the band when they came out to play their first four b-sides, after a bizarrely elongated introduction by way of some obscure videos on the screen behind the four as they tuned up. Taking photos in the pitch black is no fun, and doesn’t yield many favourable results, so it was lucky that there were some attractive blonde girls in the front row that I could look at instead. That being said, it showed the enduring appeal of the Pixies – there was equal amounts of youthful beings and middle-aged bearded men about to ensure it didn’t feel like too much of an old-boys-reunion.
The entire tracklisting of ‘Doolittle’ was played back to front, with different visuals being played behind as they went; Kim Deal on bass and vocals telling us how far we were through the imaginary vinyl – “That’s us on side 2 now!” – and musing that we wouldn’t have b-sides in our digital age anymore anyway.
It’s a shame that this had to be in Scotland’s crappiest venue – the SECC. The atmosphere was sterile and lacklustre, up until after ‘Here Comes Your Man’, and by ‘Gouge Away’, you could almost forget that you were standing in a hall as barren in style as an aircraft hanger. It was a good gig, but it could have easily been a great gig if it had been somewhere like the Barrowlands instead. Maybe then we could have only people who like the band going to see them, instead of the casual music-consumer who goes and stands showing baby photos to their friend on their camera. I kid you not. It actually happened.
By the time we’d jogged through the whole LP, and had an encore of two more b-sides (including another version of ‘Wave of Mutilation’, bizarrely), half the crowd took that to be the end, and started streaming out of the exits. I couldn’t work out if they really were just idiots, or if they knew something I didn’t, as it was only quarter past ten, and the lights were still off – it was painfully obvious that there was going to be more to come.
..and there was. Those that had jumped the gun and heard the music start-up again rushed to get back into the arena. Yep. Idiots.
The band returned and with the house-lights up, and no visuals behind them, began to run through old classics such as ‘Caribou’ and ‘Broken Face’. Greatest Hit sets are usually thought of as being a bit sterile and obvious at times, with the conceptual stuff being more arty and interesting to watch, but in this case, the latter part of the gig actually seemed much more authentic than the first half – the songs having more soul, and you felt more involved than just being presented ‘Doolittle’ as a product.
Finishing off after the flip of a coin with ‘Where Is My Mind’, is there any way it could have been anything else? A slightly strange night, but definitely a band that you need to see before you (or they) die. Despite the possible unease and loss of mystery when a band like this comes back in this way, the Pixies are still one of the most inventive and interesting lot about, and I’d pick them over the majority of other alternatives any day.
Pixies photo gallery is here.
"You only get to appreciate what you do when you're not doing it," says bassist Rob Canning, slurping on a tea. "and now we're back, we're buzzing to go."
PART ONE: WELCOME TO 2008
ARTROCKER:...
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To accompany the review of Tune-yards’ Monday gig at Cargo, a few tasty shots of Think about Life, Trash Kit and New England native Merrill Garbus aka tUnE-yArDs.
Read the review of the night...
We have collected some truly heinous examples of recent album covers, from Empire Of The Sun’s Star Wars travesty to the banal evil that is Razorlight’s Slipway Fire. Discretionary...
Album art in this gallery was selected based on several simple traits: strong concept, fine graphics including creative typography and general lushness. The first three of ‘The Best Record...
Placebo pictures: just in - some photos of Placebo and Brian Molko from last week’s gig at the Glasgow SECC.
Also check out the review here
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The show was BRILLIANT
What a piece of shit "review"! Talk about not knowing your stuff. "Un Chien Andalou" by Luis Bunuel and Dali is the basis for much of the Pixies' lore, being directly referenced in "Debaser" as well as heavily influencing Black Francis' lyrics, it being a starting point for his interest in surrealism. It is certainly not "obscure", that is, unless you're an uneducated twat that poses as a "writer".
The sound was brilliant at the venue and so was the band. "Doolittle" played live by all four original Pixies in its entirety is something even the most ardent Pixies fan couldn't dream of ever happening, and it HAPPENED. Bloody amazing. It's like seeing Nirvana playing all of "Nevermind" or The Smiths playing "The Queen is Dead", except better.
And since you don't know, you should feel lucky you were at the gig. They played an extended encore at this show, beyond their normal set for this tour, full of goodies from "Surfer Rosa" and "Come On Pilgrim" that was making up for their aborted gig at this venue 18 years ago - talk about remembering and thinking of the fans!
"casual music-consumer who goes and stands showing baby photos to their friend on their camera"? You've got to be kidding. I suppose the "serious music-consumer" would stand around like yourself, brooding, hoping someone notices how stupid you look. Sorry, but you're nothing but a jackass and this review is the worst kind of wannabe "hip" tripe posing as "journalism". If this "article" was in print, it wouldn't even be worth wiping my arse with.
I'm still amused
by all the rabid Pixies fans getting in a lather because a gig reviewer didn't know his band 'lore'. Stephen went to the gig. He thought it was lacklustre. He thought the venue was terrible. All of which are justified opinions, regardless of his knowledge of 'surrealist classics.'
I like the Pixies - I saw them in Brixton a few years ago and it was very good. I like their albums, despite the terrible production. But I can imagine them having off nights, sounding crap in some soulless enormodome or - heaven forbid - going through the motions sometimes.
Plus - the review isn't even that negative. It reads as pretty balanced to me - with most of the negativity aimed at the venue and atmosphere. But passionate fans can lose perspective sometimes (myself being guilty of this of several bands).
In the words of Scroobius Pip...
The Pixies, just a band...
Reagrdless of the gig, this
Reagrdless of the gig, this is one of the most badly written, lumpen pieces of music journalism I have ever read. I only followed a link to this site to find the review of a band I like, saw The Pixies review and, wow. If Artrocker is of this quality I'm glad I never picked up a copy.
Tough crowd ;) But we have open submissions
Tough crowd ;) But we have open submissions - if anyone feels they can do better and wants to contribute any reviews of gigs or albums, please feel free to send them to artrockercontent@gmail.com
sooo It all goes like this..
blah blah blah, its great
blah blah blah, its rubbish
blah blah blah, its great
blah.......(repeat)
jeeze... like does anyone really give a fcuk?
some people like it, some people dont...whats it matter. its like listening to a bunch of fuckin pensioners at the Co-op. its like punk never happened, the x-factor goes indie... 'it was nice that the house lights were up so i could take my smashing photos' ...lovely mate. and where were you again? Norfolk Lavender... musics about emotions and passion, not whether they had hard or soft toilet roll in the toilets. its a review of the amenities, the guys an ass.
there, i did it, i pissed all over my 1st bit by getting involved.
blah blah fkng blah
Pixies thing...
The review is useless... the band were un-be-lievable in 1988 live @ rock city, nottingham..just the greatest thing you'd ever hope to see... they are not so good live now.. great songs and all but live they don't get near to the original shows.. its hard to remember that back then they sounded like nothing on earth..now there have been so many copyists that,well, yknow, they dont seem so leftfield..but c'mon its partly about the cash now. still in my top 3 fave bands but i wouldnt expect them to be astonishing thesedays. (and moaning about someone showing someone baby photos at a gig? people can do what they want, which includes writing crap reviews of bands without any notion of what they changed and where they stand in alt rock history is one of them.. hopefully the kid in the photo will grow up with a great deal more cool than the reviewer...
Err. this isn't a review of a gig in 1988
and you say yourself 'they are not so good live now' . So I don't get your point. Just because they're a massively influential band doesn't mean they've never played a dud gig. Every review doesn't have to include frothy praise of their past glories.
you claim to be a real fan ?
I agree with your points about the gig and venue but just two points to query
1. "including another version of ‘Wave of Mutilation’, bizarrely"
if you knew what you were talking about you would know this is the uk surf version which is on the b-side to here comes your man ! the song is regulaly played as part of the pixies set as well as the original so not really bizare at all !
2."Finishing off after the flip of a coin with ‘Where Is My Mind’, is there any way it could have been anything else?"
if you knew anything about the pixies you would know that gigantic is a favourite for ending the night (which is what ended brixton) which i imagine is what the coin flip was for
A good heart
Has no one ever went to a gig (in another city perhaps) and had a meeting in work, or a hospital appointment or whatever the following morning and as a result HAD to leave a gig early? No, no one ever done that?
ps "Un Chien Andalou" is terrible imo...mind you I don't actually like the pixies either.
I agree completely with your
I agree completely with your review, the first half of the gig was to be frank boring and lacklustre...i was devestated, this si a band i'd waited to see for yeeeears.....i didnt feel any real passion from the band until after half the crowd left and the lights came on, the songs after that moment were much better. It was an enjoyable gig but the secc was the worst possible venue. There was so mnay people there who were not interested at all
we were second row from the front and my friend had a panic attack and we had to move, and even though i love this band i didnt even care about that....was dissapoined, but glad i got to see them though
Youtube clip of Debaser
Youtube clip of Debaser here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eqq71eYA1mQ
video
the movie at the beginning of the show is Salvador Dali's Un chien andalou (played at double speed). Which is credited with launching the Surrealist movement and what the lyrics to Debaser are based on.
Is the Un Chien Andalou video
Is the Un Chien Andalou video as shown at the gig on Sunday with the background music available online anywhere?
Gig was tremendous I though, although Frank Black is a bit quiet in between songs I thought.
The point isn't whether the film was good or bad...
The point is that the film was actually the subject matter of the song Debaser. Did you see the eyeball getting sliced on the film? That is the eyeball slicing talked about in the lyrics.
Your review in general seems detached from the proceedings, which were actually very thrilling for any even moderate Pixies fan.
You haven't said much about the quality of the singing and playing. I did think there was as slight air of obligation fulfillment and not much emotion in the performance of the main set.
But when they came back their passion for all the second encore songs was evident. And they don't often show how they feel like that. Frank and Joey both really had their mojo working. A very special night.
I think Kim wanted Gigantic on the coin toss (just a guess). I'm sure Frank was asking for Where Is My Mind.
Your pics are great. Clean and sharp.
Keep up the good work, but when you write about a cult band like this, you need to make a bit more effort if you want to get brownie points from fans. The word is short for fanatic you know.
Can't wait for Paris now. :-))
Cheers. I'm not after brownie
Cheers.
I'm not after brownie points - if I was, I could easily have gushed about their cult status and all the effect they've had, and how it was wonderful to hang off their every word blah blah.
It wasn't. The gig might have been a wet-dream for all those Pixies die-hards out there, but to the gig-goer who had 'merely' an above-average interest in them, it was just good, not great - as I said. I expected a mind-blowing experience, and it was not to be found. Was it because of the venue? Who knows. No effort is required to dig into their history or visual influences to work out one's own subjective feelings about a performance, or indeed to articulate them.
As for the film - maybe it's because I was right at the front of the stage and could see - but I found nothing endearing or arty about standing for five minutes watching mashed up clips whilst the band stood tuning up and talking onstage. Do I need to have intimate knowledge of their influences in order to enjoy them live? If so, then I wouldn't bother recommending them to anyone.
Not just mashed-up clips
Not saying this to be snarky, but you come off as pretty ignorant when you keep referring to Luis Bunuel's "Un Chien Andalou" as obscure imagery or mashed-up clips. I'm not great fan of it, but it's *really* famous and instantly recognizable to most people with more than a high school education. It's also what "Debaser" was based on, and not in a subtle way, either ("slicin' up eyeballs," "I am un chien andalusian," etc.) So it just kind of sounds like you don't know what you're talking about. I agreed with the rest of your assessment of the show, though.
"Do I need to have intimate
"Do I need to have intimate knowledge of their influences in order to enjoy them live? "
No - but you do need to know a bit more about them to write a credible review.
I was right at the front as well. You're right - the film wasn't particularly electrifying, but it was absolutely apt for the occasion.
And if your mind wasn't blown by that second encore you must be made of stone.
great gig, much better than the last time i saw them
I saw them at Meadowbank (2004?) and that was not a great venue for the band. Sure SECC is a glorified aircraft hanger with an incredibly solid floor (i was the guy constantly shifting around on my old feet trying to ease my pain) but the sound in there was perfect for The Pixies.
After seeing Eels a few years ago and missing a bit of the concert at the end (about 20 minutes) beceause i left too early, i learned an important lesson......when your mate say's "want to head?" after the first encore (he checked the Dublin setlist too) tell him to stand fast and yee shall be rewarded. It was fantastic to hear the tracks from Come on Pilgrim and Surferosa played live.
The Pixies lived up to every expectation i had set in my own imagination.
Special mention goes to the guy standing in front of me who turned to the two twats to his left who never stopped talking loudly all through the gig and uttered the words "excuse me, would you two mind shutting the fuck up".......that saved me from having to say something equally as blunt to them
Lazy review
I'm sorry but this review was lazy.
All it did was slag off the venue and the fans who went to the gig.
The gig was amazing man
The band were tight, it
The band were tight, it sounded perfect. The crowd were deadly. Kim Deal grinning throughout, the band seeming to be at ease with each other and having a hoot playing and having a craic with each other. They played a heap of savage b-sides and hearing Doolittle was perfect, and the encores were mental. Hate to disagree with ya...but aye the Edinburgh train was a pile of pish.
Deary Me..
What a lot of angst.
Thanks for pointing out the name of the film at the start. I never said obscure was bad - if you check out any of my other reviews for anything you'll see my penchant for all things weird and wonderful.
The second 'encore' or whatever it was saw a number of people who had been fairly placid about the whole gig leave. Not the hardcore Pixies fans jumping around to the rest of the set, nor even the medium Pixies fans - just random hangers on who buy tickets to large bands to check them off a list for street cred. These people, are indeed idiots. My knowledge of the rest of the hits actually came from a quick look at the first few results of a very brief search. The SECC website contained times, which after the encore were marked "Hits Set", and ontop of that.. there was apparently a second encore on the first night in Dublin, with Where Is My Mind?
No claims to anything other than simple observation - most people literally rushed out as soon as the band had walked offstage - no house music, no house-lights. There wasn't even a chance for them to come back out before a bulk had disappeared into the SECC's shadowy depths. If obscurity is a hallmark of the Pixies, and these people are indeed more well informed than me, then they should have been the very people to have stayed to see if the band they so love would pull a trick out the bag.
I don't admit to having any in-depth Pixies knowledge outside what's readily available, but I'll follow up on the stuff that's been pointed out, and in particular check out the opening film. Feel free to taunt/mock/debase someone for their subjective views as you see fit!
@Xeroks: I thought she had said something along the lines of that, but wasn't entirely sure. She did say we'd to go home and tell our parents that they'd come back to finish a set finally, but it was a bit odd, given that a lot of the "parents" probably constituted half the audience!
As for the house-lights up, I thought that it added to the atmosphere in there rather than detracted as well; a rather clever move to end the whole thing.
2nd encore..wait..what??
I was one of the people that left after the first encore...and yes this was mostly due to checking up on the Dublin setlist.
I dont know if the added encore is part of the tour schedule or if it was something special for the Scottish fans ...nevermind...i had a geat night and am even more in love with Kim than i was before.
Were you actually at the gig?
Were you actually at the gig? This is the worst review i have ever read. The band were amazing and so was the atmosphere. Credit should also be given to the SECC for sound was more than adequate. Maybe you just didn't get it. Don't quit your day job.
Not that obscure
It's what Debaser was about, and it also involved Salvador Dali...
And as for people leaving, maybe they are actually better informed than yourself as on the previous Dublin nights of this tour they have only done one encore... it was the Doolittle anniversary tour after all.
Also, having never been there before I thought the atmosphere and sound were fine.
Just about to say the same
Just about to say the same thing.. more or less. At least about the Bunuel/Dali film! It's a weird good creepy film you should watch again!
M
I had a great time at this show --- and a notso great time on the PACKED train back to Edinburgh.
Doolittle too
And Doolittle was very,VERY good.
The videos worked well (especially Here Comes Your Man) and the music was better.
I liked seeing the film at the beginning. I guessed it was "un chien andalou" from the surrealism and the eyeball, so to me it was a bit like "The Origins of Doolittle".
I always liked "origins of" comics when was wee. Even now I watch DVDs with the director's commentary. And you thought the Pixies were weird.
i've started so i'll finish
I thought the last section of the gig was the remaining set from their abandoned gig, or did I mishear Kim?
I agree that the second part felt more like a gig than a multimedia experience. While it was initially a bit weird with the house lights up, it didn't detract overall. In fact it may have added a bit of the atmosphere usually lacking in the SECC.
Eh?
The "obscure" video was Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali's "Un Chien Andalou". The 1929 surrealist classic which informed the imagery of the Doolitle album and is explicitly referenced throughout Debaser in particular.
I thought it set the tone perfectly and , for once, the sound and atmosphere was terrific.
I think you think you're very clever.
You're not.
Why to prosecute someone for
Why to prosecute someone for not knowing everything, especially if they're young? Also being well-informed is nothing to do with being clever.
I agree, terrible, uninformed
I agree, terrible, uninformed review. Not very clever at all but kudos for working out there was a second encoure all the same. I think a medal is in order.
I'd say it was pretty obscure
Why the petty insults Goatboy?
Because
the reviewer arrogantly dimissed a fundamental part of the show , imagining his own ignorance somehow made it allowable to sneer at people with a reasonable knowledge of 20th century art. He's a smug superior twat. And the more thats pointed out the more chance he has of sorting himself out into a decent human. He doesen't know his subject and he shouldn't be reviewing things he doesen't understand.
Not too obscure for a Pixies fan really
It's what Debaser was all about after all...
As for people going early, there wasn't a second encore on any of the Dublin nights of the Doolittle tour... They have previous said it was going to be a 20th anniversary tour of Doolittle and associated B's. Maybe they were better informed than you gave them credit for.
And I thought both the sound and atmosphere were fine...
Actually, they did do a
Actually, they did do a second encore at one of the dublin gigs, they only did one song (Where is my mind) but it was still an encore. To me, anyone who leaves a gig before the roadies come on to start moving stuff can't be a huge fan of the band.
Kinda spot on
Firstly I am a pixies fan and have always been, was at the Barrowlands gig in 1990 and it is to this day the best gig I have been to.
It was a strange night I thought, my personal opion for this is a few things.
1. showing surrealist films constantly through the set, that should have been killed for the main doolittle album set. Personally I find this film disturbing and I suppose your supposed to, I know all the art angles on this and this similar shock thing was done years ago by andy warhol and the velvets etc.. but whilst thats all n good and very intelectual... I just wanna hear the band rock it.
2. Doing a whole album is always going to be laclustre. I know its the doolitte "tour" but hey..been dying to meet ya! As a fan Doolittle was not their strongest work and the song orders dont energise the crowds.
That said the sound and playing was spot on tight and sounded great I thought and translated from album sound to live almost verbatim. Whilst It wasnt the most rocking gig crowd wise (except to the front) the roar of applause at the end of the set was phenomenal.. And to top it all off the encores of come on pilgrim and surferrosa songs were even better than the main gig .. even with the houselights on!
My tuppence ....
just play and rock the crowd pick the songs and play it loud!
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