Pixies - 13/9/2019

I couldn't resist a Pixies tour even if the gig was at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena and in an unassigned seat far far away from the stage. First up was The Big Moon an all female band who would have sounded better with a different sound mix. The bass drum was definitely at 11 and even Robbie Shakespear would have been impressed with the bass guitar volume. When that drum was going the subtleties of the vocals and guitars was rather lost and they were definitely worth listening to. The changes in tempo in the songs were good as well - I wouldn't mind seeing the band in a different environment - and with a different mixing engineer. The Pixies just launched straight into 'Where is My Mind' followed by 'Here Comes Your Man' two of their classic songs to get audience in the mood - which worked very well. Thereafter they roughly alternated a couple of their new songs (which were only released on the day of the concert so I hadn't heard them before) with a couple from their back catalogue. I really took to the new stuff, slightly less manic their some of the older songs and therefore more immediately accessible. As ever the guitar work, whether from Black Francis who has an eclectic and unconventional style, or from Joey Santiago who I think improves with every gig I have seen was a highlight for me. Not to diminish the roles of bassist/backing vocalist Paz Lenchantin or drummer David Lovering who were both excellent but the really exciting moments were when those two guitarists were giving it some. Joey Santiago seems to have become more fluid and less staccato over time and it is a great sound particularly when allied to the unique Black Francis sound. I loved the version of 'Wave of Mutilation' which was about ten songs in, tracks delivered one straight after another without pause. A few tracks later there was another great version, this time of 'Gouge Away' and shortly after perhaps the best moment of the gig when The Pixies launched into a Jesus and Mary Chain Song. A great crossover moment. Looking up the set list I see that the song was 'Head On' (from Automatic). 'Gigantic' and 'Caribou' gave Paz a chance to show off her vocal chops before a last few songs which included the brilliant 'Bone Machine' followed by the superb 'Debaser'. There was a single song encore which was 'Hey' and that was song 34 of high energy relentless music. Good job again from The Pixies.