The Pixies at Brixton Academy
The Pixies
Art Brut
Brixton Academy, 8 October 2009
I'm just a couple of years too young to have caught the Pixies live the first time around but I did manage to see them on their first reunion tour a few years back. Although they seemed to be on good form, played pretty much all my faves and seemed to be getting on well unfortunately it was at Alexandra Palace aka the worst venue in London.
There are many reasons why Ally Pally is an awful venue but, other than its location and the sound, the low stage, that made it hard for anyone beyond the first few rows to see the band, is probably the worst offence. Therefore I was thrilled to get another opportunity to see the band reunited and at the far superior location of Brixton Academy, this time performing their classic album Doolittle in its entirety. Although, thanks to its sloped floor, you have a good view wherever you're standing in Brixton Academy, taking no chances this time I went straight for the front and managed to secure a central spot right by the barrier while support act Art Brut were in full flow.
I had heard some of Art Brut's angular indie rock before but live it really comes alive. Musically they're not a million miles away from the Pixies (Frank Black even produced their latest album, Art Brut Vs Satan) but there's something brilliantly British about Art Brut, and it's not just Eddie Argos' almost conversational speak-singing, that harks back to the golden days of punk. It's pretty refreshing to me since I hate most recent British indie bands. Argos (who, dressed in smart shirt and tie, looks more like a young history teacher than a rock star) sings or talks, it's not really singing, about riding on buses, about going to his local record shop and finding hardly any records (it's all games and DVDs, "we want more records in record shops"" he shouts) and introduced every member of the band as Art Brut. I'm not sure if it's art rock or "Art Wave" (as NME dubbed it) but they won me over and out of the acts that supported the Pixies over their four-night run, I definitely lucked out.
Since the last time I saw them, the Pixies have stepped up their stage production, in fact it started positively theatrically with clips from the film Un Chien Andalou playing on the huge LED screen (it was the inspiration for the lyrics to Debaser apparently), lots of dry ice and eerie music, before the band bounded on stage to screams from the crowd. Considering how ordinary and un-rock starish they look, there's something pretty awesome about the fact they are (rightfully) greeted this way.
Rather than jumping straight into Doolittle instead they start off with Dancing The Manta Ray and a bunch more B-sides from that record. All go down well and it's a treat to hear songs like Weird At My School live for the first time, but it's only when they launch into Doolittle's first track, Debaser, that the crowd goes absolutely ape-shit. Every song sounded like a classic, in fact I always thought Side 1 of the record contained the strongest material (it did have all the "hits" afterall) but tracks like There Goes My Gun, Hey, Gouge Away and La La Love You (with David Lowering skilfully handling drums and vocals), all sounded just as good. Kim was grinning throughout and even seemed to share a few jokes with Mr Black, which warmed the heart to see. All through the songs cool films played on the LED screen behind, from videos of the band grooving to Here Comes Your Man to a man in creepy sack mack trying to hang himself during Mr. Grieves.
But after the album was played through it didn't end there, as the band returned to the stage to treat us to two more B-sides, probably my favourite two as well, the cool surf version of Wave Of Mutilation and Kim's Into The White (one of my favourite Pixies songs), which amusingly saw the dry ice machine working overtime and Kim was momentarily lost in the fog that covered the stage. It was almost a Spinal Tap moment.
Finally, after leaving and returning to the stage one last time, having run out of Doolittle-era tracks, the band treated us to a few older songs, a gorgeous Caribou, a spiky Nimrod's Son and, best of all, the joyful awesomeness of Gigantic. They really couldn't have picked a better closer, ending the night perfectly, and I'm so pleased I finally got to see the band up-close, at a fantastic venue and sounding so great. Long live the Pixies!
There are many reasons why Ally Pally is an awful venue but, other than its location and the sound, the low stage, that made it hard for anyone beyond the first few rows to see the band, is probably the worst offence. Therefore I was thrilled to get another opportunity to see the band reunited and at the far superior location of Brixton Academy, this time performing their classic album Doolittle in its entirety. Although, thanks to its sloped floor, you have a good view wherever you're standing in Brixton Academy, taking no chances this time I went straight for the front and managed to secure a central spot right by the barrier while support act Art Brut were in full flow.
I had heard some of Art Brut's angular indie rock before but live it really comes alive. Musically they're not a million miles away from the Pixies (Frank Black even produced their latest album, Art Brut Vs Satan) but there's something brilliantly British about Art Brut, and it's not just Eddie Argos' almost conversational speak-singing, that harks back to the golden days of punk. It's pretty refreshing to me since I hate most recent British indie bands. Argos (who, dressed in smart shirt and tie, looks more like a young history teacher than a rock star) sings or talks, it's not really singing, about riding on buses, about going to his local record shop and finding hardly any records (it's all games and DVDs, "we want more records in record shops"" he shouts) and introduced every member of the band as Art Brut. I'm not sure if it's art rock or "Art Wave" (as NME dubbed it) but they won me over and out of the acts that supported the Pixies over their four-night run, I definitely lucked out.
Since the last time I saw them, the Pixies have stepped up their stage production, in fact it started positively theatrically with clips from the film Un Chien Andalou playing on the huge LED screen (it was the inspiration for the lyrics to Debaser apparently), lots of dry ice and eerie music, before the band bounded on stage to screams from the crowd. Considering how ordinary and un-rock starish they look, there's something pretty awesome about the fact they are (rightfully) greeted this way.
Rather than jumping straight into Doolittle instead they start off with Dancing The Manta Ray and a bunch more B-sides from that record. All go down well and it's a treat to hear songs like Weird At My School live for the first time, but it's only when they launch into Doolittle's first track, Debaser, that the crowd goes absolutely ape-shit. Every song sounded like a classic, in fact I always thought Side 1 of the record contained the strongest material (it did have all the "hits" afterall) but tracks like There Goes My Gun, Hey, Gouge Away and La La Love You (with David Lowering skilfully handling drums and vocals), all sounded just as good. Kim was grinning throughout and even seemed to share a few jokes with Mr Black, which warmed the heart to see. All through the songs cool films played on the LED screen behind, from videos of the band grooving to Here Comes Your Man to a man in creepy sack mack trying to hang himself during Mr. Grieves.
But after the album was played through it didn't end there, as the band returned to the stage to treat us to two more B-sides, probably my favourite two as well, the cool surf version of Wave Of Mutilation and Kim's Into The White (one of my favourite Pixies songs), which amusingly saw the dry ice machine working overtime and Kim was momentarily lost in the fog that covered the stage. It was almost a Spinal Tap moment.
Finally, after leaving and returning to the stage one last time, having run out of Doolittle-era tracks, the band treated us to a few older songs, a gorgeous Caribou, a spiky Nimrod's Son and, best of all, the joyful awesomeness of Gigantic. They really couldn't have picked a better closer, ending the night perfectly, and I'm so pleased I finally got to see the band up-close, at a fantastic venue and sounding so great. Long live the Pixies!
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