Pixies at Glasgow, SECC

'Been dying to meet you'

Twenty years since the release of Doolittle and eighteen having passed since the band last played indoors in Glasgow means that expectations are high. It also means the venue is packed transforming the venue from a soulless, sterile, atmosphere lacking SECC into a soulless, sterile,atmosphere lacking SECC that is full of people.

Sons and Daughters did the honours as support act. Happy to be there in front of a crowd that was, even at that early hour, packed in front of the stage awaiting the headliner. They sounded bright and fresh making sure that 'Dance me in' and 'Johnny Cash' got a good airing.

As ever the mavericks, Pixies began the set with no stadium rock grand entrance followed by the big tune to get the crowd jumping, instead with the band on stage and with backs turned to the crowd we all watched five minutes of Bunuel's surrealistic film 'Un Chien Andalou' An eye opening start to a major gig.

To bemuse and scare more than Buneul's movie the band opened up with a string of b-sides. It had been interweb rumoured that the group were going to do a b-side gig but most of us had conveniently dismissed this before parting with our £30 for a ticket. For four songs some of us had that sinking feeling that this might just be the worst concert ever.

Ever the tease, remember that fun day when Frank Black announced on radio, without telling any of the rest of the band, that the Pixies were over? A joker is that Mr Thompson IV. Kim Deal then announced the start of Doolittle. Cue tears of gratitude as 'Debaser' kicked in.

The band then played the whole lp right through in order. The biggest cheers were obviously reserved for 'Monkey's gone to Heaven', 'Here comes your man' and the album's opener.
Surprisingly, I really enjoyed the other tracks much more. I felt that 'Crackity Jones', 'Mr Grieves' and 'Tame', songs that I thought were lightweight on the lp, came across with more conviction than the hits. Perhaps they scored more highly as a result of not being so well known and so often heard.

An encore of 'Into the White' with Kim Deal in the spotlight and then gone.

Only for the band to return to the stage and play what would have been the songs lost to the audience when the stage gave way in 1991.
So we got 'Caribou', 'Holiday Song' 'Isla de Encanta' and a blistering 'Nimrod's Son'. This was the highlight. Whereas, 'Doolittle' had been played with reverence it did all seem a bit heritage band stylee. If you look at their touring schedule you'll see that the 'Doolittle' tour continues into March 2010. Same songs, same order every night. By contrast the punklike thrashing given to the songs of 'Surfer Rosa' was enthusiastically the real thing.

So a great ending to a gig that is as good as it can get in the cavern of the SECC. The added value of the songs from their 1988 album sealed a wonderful evening.

The question left unasked though was, 'At what point does a band move from being relevant to the zeitgeist to being on the heritage tour stage?'
I mean is going to see Pixies now absolutely no different from heading out to see The Swinging Blue Jeans or Kajagoogoo? Is it all just a paean to nostalgia?
Sobering thought? Not half as sobering as 'Un Chien Andalou'. Gouge Away.