Pixies Day 3

Word of the day: AWESOME

It was the last night of the Pixies sell out performance at the Fox Theater. Just like to previous nights, the bside warmups as well as the doolittle sets were identical. Even the banter. Elected spokeswoman, Kim Deal navigated us through the set list as if it were a cassette tape, letting the crowd know where they were at on each side. Each night, she proclaimed how beautiful the Fox Theater was, and it is. And yes, it's in Oakland. Long live the East Bay. I envisioned running into Joe Santiago and agreeing to go to Guitar Center to go buy some strings. Taking Frank Black to Bakesale Betty's and booking him to do a solo mini tour with me as his booker here in the bay. And maybe go get some feijoada at Brazil Cafe' or hit a Burrito truck in International Blvd. Ask Dave Lovering to perform some magic for me and have tea with Kim Deal and tell her how much I love her voice that it reminds me of my french bulldog, Surfer Rosa. (Yes, I love the Pixies that much)

But none of that happened. And it probably never will. (Sniff.) But I did get to see them aqain, and three times at that! My wife is probably tired and mad at me for making her go to all 3 shows. I did ask some other close friends but none were available. It pains me that a lot of people don't know about them, or how good they are. As plain and boring as they appear to be, not having the lively stage presence, that say Billie Joe of Green Day or charisma of Joe Strummer, or chatty personality like Bono of U2, I truly believe that they are one of the greatest bands that never got the paid (till '04), never got the notoriety, or acknowledgement (till now) and I wonder would they ever get inducted. Here's my push. They deserve it. They've influenced countless bands, some of them really crappy and get more acknowledgement and airtime. For an independent band that never got its due, they can really pack a place. LoudQUIETLoud, documented the reunion. The Pixies reunion was labeled the Sell Out Tour. Literally, they sold out. And they got the money paid, and it was well deserved. And it doesn't make me mad. The inner punk screaming SELL OUT, is ok with it. Like most working stiffs like you and me, this is their profession. Maybe its more glorious, but with their catalog, nostalgia and aging audience, and hipness to the new hipsters makes it all work in their favor, especially during these tough times. I can sympathize with that. To put it perspective, pre Reunion days, Kim Deal's one hit wonder band Breeder's has made more money to date that the 15 years of the Pixies existence, minus the reunion years. Dave Lovering was down and out. His father died of cancer during the reunion, and you can tell that all this was taking a toll on him. Kim, the recovering addict, triumphant at conquering her demons, put her differences aside with Frank Black, enabling this to all happen. Joey Santiago, married with children often the only bridge of communication, even though years passed between talking with each other, admitted that doing this could guarantee his children's education and better quality of life. And lastly Frank Black, usually quiet, as Kim does most of the banter between songs, is still the man behind the curtain. I refer to Black Francis, as the working showman, artist, musician. The Catholics, going solo, all this material could have been Pixies material, if the clash with Kim didn't occur. But time heals all things, and above all, money talks. In the end, you have everyone else who is happy as hell that they're back and still here to rock. A little bit slower, a little bit older, and some cases, a little bit bigger, figuratively speaking! Here is something all those cute, stupid 3 chord punk pop, emo-core bands can't contend with. This is what real music is and should sound like. This is the greatest band you've never heard...

And November 11th, it was at the Fox Theater in the Biggity 'O'!

Like I said before, 2/3rds of the show was the same. With the elaborate video set (indicator when a band is getting big with all the visuals) I never got tired watching Monkey's Gone to Heaven. Man I love simians.



At the end of the 1st Encore, each night, they ended with Into the White, and the fogged the entire venue as if they were trying to bug bomb all the hipsters that were leaving early. Kim Deal's voice is so pleasantly sounding to me, it's the voice I envision my dog Rosie having if she were able to speak.



To top it off, they ended it with Bone Machine, Broken Face, Isla de Encanta and Where is My Mind? Surfer Rosa tracks. Although each show clocked 1.5 hrs it felt all too short. Watching 3 shows in all, was enough to satiate my appetite for pixieness and in the end, I was satisfied. And a little bit sad. Will they ever release any more material? Another album maybe? Only time will tell. Hopefully it will happen.

Here's some songs I wish they played:

Winterlong


UMASS


In Heaven