Pixies
11th March 2017
Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Matt Henry Mendonca.
“I was trying to write the ultimate pop song. I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies” – Said by Kurt Cobain to Rolling Stone magazine in 1993. Because that is just how influential the Pixies were, and still are. An enigma of a band, they have influenced everyone from David Bowie to The Strokes, Weezer to Arcade Fire.
It’s been several years since the Pixies were here in New Zealand, so fans were almost delirious to find out that they were coming back to play not just one, but three dates in the major cities as part of their Head Carrier tour. Tonight it was Auckland’s turn – the last of the three nights, and as they say they always save the best for last. With The Pixies having a career that has spanned well over 30 years, Vector was chock-full of a range of ages, those that had grown up with them through to those who were just starting to. Looking across at the stage, it was beautifully arranged. There were no big screens, just long heavy curtains with a row of spotlights aimed directly at them, giving the set up a wonderfully tactile feel to it. The stage was almost in a semi-circle with a row of lights at eye level and spotlights providing illumination from below.
The crowd were cheering madly as Black Francis and Paz Lenchantin stepped up to the microphones; and as Lenchantin began to sing those haunting notes to ‘Where is My Mind’ the crowd erupted, no one expecting such a huge song to start the show. It was almost as if Francis was having a little joke with the audience; if this is all you came to see, just this one song, well here you go…
Followed up with ‘Here Comes Your Man’ and the audience are already beside themselves with glee, some celebrating by riding the sea of hands raised in praise to these lyrical geniuses. The Pixies were formed back in 1986 in Boston, and while they achieved moderate success in the US, it was the UK and Europe that took them on as one of their own – with their admirers absolutely lapping up the music. Disbanding in 1993 (and then getting back together again in 2004) – they have only produced 6 studio albums but they include some of the most influential songs in pop history today.
Francis is wearing a black suit, and is accompanied by the stunning Paz Lenchantin in a long sleeved but short length black dress, red roses attached to the head of her bass guitar. Lenchantin had huge shoes to fill when Kim Deal left in 2013, but her illustrious career with acts such as A Perfect Circle, Zwan and Queens of The Stone Age certainly prove she has the skills to do so. The band barely communicates with the audience, letting the words to their songs do the talking for them. Although there was an interesting form of communication going on during the track ‘Gouge Away’ as Joey Santiago on lead guitar decides to make his guitar talk by not only playing it with a drumstick tossed to him by David Lovering, but by using distortion and feedback while comically miming away to Francis. Santiago has long been regarded for his brilliant guitar work with the Pixies and tonight was no exception. The Pixies were chugging through their set list, barely pausing to take a breath. Francis would alternate between an acoustic and electric guitar, while glued to a centre stage position for the entire night.
As we moved through the evening, the stage lighting transported you to another level of reality. The projections of strange almost splatter like shapes against those heavy black curtains making for a spectacular backdrop; colour combinations matching the tones of the songs. At one point you could have sworn that Francis was about to be abducted by aliens; long fingers of light reaching out from behind him and stretching towards the ceiling.
All too soon we arrived at the end of their set with the sexually charged ‘Hey’ being followed with ‘Bone Machine’. Each member of the band laying down their instruments and taking their time to walk the length of the stage, acknowledging the fans ecstatic praises. As the members milled for a few seconds, smoke began to fill the air, thicker and thicker it grew until you could barely see them. And then the opening notes of ‘Into the White’ rang out and as the smoke thinned, there they were back in their positions for one final song – amazingly sung by Lenchantin herself.
Faultless.
Were you there at Vector Arena to witness this classic alt-rock show? Or have you seen the Pixies live somewhere else during their illustrious career? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Where Is My Mind
- Here Comes Your Man
- Winterlong [Neil Young Cover]
- Blown Away
- Mr Grieves
- Nimrod’s Son
- Indy Cindy
- All The Saints
- Vamos
- Gouge Away
- All I Think About Now
- Debaser
- Broken Face
- Isla De Encanta
- Magdalena
- Head Carrier
- Monkey Gone To Heaven
- Classic Masher
- Wave of Mutilation
- Oona
- Might As Well Be Gone
- Um Chagga Lagga
- Crackity Jones
- Bel Esprit
- Velouria
- Hey
- Bone Machine
- Into The White [encore]
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.