Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
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Here’s the review:
It was the Pixies’ first show in Asheville, but the repeated roar of the near-capacity audience at the Civic Center’s Thomas Wolfe Auditorium was enough to make you think the band was playing to a hometown crowd. The indie-rock gods are on a reunion tour of sorts, one pegged around their 1989 album Doolittle. Sandwiched between various B-sides from roughly that year and some Pixies classics, last night the band played that album’s tracks in its entirety, from start to finish.
On the one hand, the show was startlingly authentic, as the Pixies played with nary a variation on their patented “loud, quiet, loud” approach. The songs were, almost without exception, rendered just as they sounded when recorded. No reinterpretations, no random riffing — and the set was mercifully free of self-referencial, stalling banter. While some bands find it necessary to reshape their old work to keep it fresh, the Pixies seem to have learned that they got it right the first time.
Not that they didn’t have anything new to offer. The Doolittle Tour comes with a pricey price tag, with most seats at shows like last night’s going for about 50 clams, so some value-added elements were to be expected. The Pixies delivered on this front as well, with a vivid multimedia display. On a giant screen behind the band, perfectly choreographed images and graphics propelled the show to a new visual level, with washes of color bathing the band and audience.
The audience itself was something of a wonder as well: There were legions of fans hailing from my demographic, which experienced the Pixies’ rise in real time, but also very many who’ve come to know the band later. Each group responded with its own kind of revelry, with the older fans weaving and nodding reverently, and the younger ones singing along and shaking their arms with every chorus.
The Pixies obliged the crowd with two encores, the second of which featured five chestnuts and ended with Kim Deal belting out Gigantic. (The set list is here.) What a gas it was to see them.
– Jon Elliston, reviewer-at-large
This video is the band at The Ryman on Sept. 11. The song is “Debaser.”
I've been a long-time fan and this was my first Pixies concert. I thought it was great. Music sounded perfect. If the ticket price is too high then don't go. It was worth it to me. I drove across the state to see them and stayed in a hotel; so it was more than just a ticket cost for me personally. I'd do it again.
As for the ticket price…the Pixies offered presale tickets thru their website for a number of weeks prior to going on sale to the public. I bought presale tickets for $50 a piece and that bought me front row seats and a free download of the show I attended. Not a bad deal in my opinion.
Personally, I loved the show. As anyone who's seen a band tour on songs they wrote 20 years ago can attest to sometimes feeling embarrassed for balding rockers (I'm looking at you, Brett Michael's hairpiece), I was glad to see that they put the emphasis on the music and largely took it off themselves.
As for the age range of the crowd, it was best seen via the younger fans with their camera phones vs. the old farts with their lighters. When a band manages to get good numbers of both in the air, you know they've achieved more than a generation's worth of appeal.
Considering the Pixies played for about only one hour before the 2 encores it seemed like the two "encores" were more of a second set than typical encore(s). Thought the show was great and I am sure fans were more than pleased. It was a fun stroll down memory lane.
Despite it's listing in the above setlist capture, I didn't think of the first encore as really qualifying as an actual encore either, especially considering it was still Doolittle material, and thus more of a piece with the first set.
Why not have just played those two songs then taken the break?
Although I agreed the Pixies played well, I could definitely find fault in what was presented (not just the ticket price). For instance, the lack of "self-referential stalling banter" seemed to me more like a band at a rehearsal than live performance. I rarely found the video screen compelling, more distracting and at times contrived. As far as the musical selections, did we really need both versions of wave of mutilation considering the lack of any difference other than tempo? It's not like they had no other material, perhaps none they bothered to practice, it was clear the band has not put all of their differences completely aside. But my biggest complaint was the 2 song encore, encores are 3 songs minimum, dammit.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the show, but it was not the "best show ever" your review seemed to indicate. By the way, I'll be playing 'Surfer Rosa' on my stereo later, admission is only $5.
I've been a long-time fan and this was my first Pixies concert. I thought it was great. Music sounded perfect. If the ticket price is too high then don't go. It was worth it to me. I drove across the state to see them and stayed in a hotel; so it was more than just a ticket cost for me personally. I'd do it again.
As for the ticket price…the Pixies offered presale tickets thru their website for a number of weeks prior to going on sale to the public. I bought presale tickets for $50 a piece and that bought me front row seats and a free download of the show I attended. Not a bad deal in my opinion.
yes, the five song encore was much longer than the two song encore.
Personally, I loved the show. As anyone who's seen a band tour on songs they wrote 20 years ago can attest to sometimes feeling embarrassed for balding rockers (I'm looking at you, Brett Michael's hairpiece), I was glad to see that they put the emphasis on the music and largely took it off themselves.
As for the age range of the crowd, it was best seen via the younger fans with their camera phones vs. the old farts with their lighters. When a band manages to get good numbers of both in the air, you know they've achieved more than a generation's worth of appeal.
Considering the Pixies played for about only one hour before the 2 encores it seemed like the two "encores" were more of a second set than typical encore(s). Thought the show was great and I am sure fans were more than pleased. It was a fun stroll down memory lane.
Despite it's listing in the above setlist capture, I didn't think of the first encore as really qualifying as an actual encore either, especially considering it was still Doolittle material, and thus more of a piece with the first set.
Why not have just played those two songs then taken the break?
do you mean two-song or two-encore encore? i remember there being a second, much longer encore
Wow Jon, you're elected as fan club president.
Although I agreed the Pixies played well, I could definitely find fault in what was presented (not just the ticket price). For instance, the lack of "self-referential stalling banter" seemed to me more like a band at a rehearsal than live performance. I rarely found the video screen compelling, more distracting and at times contrived. As far as the musical selections, did we really need both versions of wave of mutilation considering the lack of any difference other than tempo? It's not like they had no other material, perhaps none they bothered to practice, it was clear the band has not put all of their differences completely aside. But my biggest complaint was the 2 song encore, encores are 3 songs minimum, dammit.
Don't get me wrong, I liked the show, but it was not the "best show ever" your review seemed to indicate. By the way, I'll be playing 'Surfer Rosa' on my stereo later, admission is only $5.
It was an amazing show! They sounded fantastic!