Quiet Color

by greg dybec (pics by robert imparato)

Earlier this year the Pixies announced their plan to reunite for the 20^th anniversary of their 1andmark 1989 album, Doolittle. On November 4^th the nine city U.S. tour kicked off at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. On November 23^rd the Pixies played their first of four New York shows at Hammerstein Ballroom. Fortunately, I was in attendance for what turned out to be one of the most monumental music experiences of my life.

Artist: Pixies Song: Where Is My Mind (Live)

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Five years since their last attempt at reunification, and sixteen years since their initial break up, I was a bit skeptical about how this highly anticipated show would play out. Thankfully, I can say that all my misplaced doubt began to vanish when an eerie screening of the 1929 French surrealist film, Un chien andalou, flashed scenes of sliced eyeballs and severed hands across a screen. By the time Frank Black screamed the opening lines of the Un chien andalou inspired “Debaser” there was not a scent of doubt left in the building.

The Pixies played excitedly through some ingenious B sides like “Weird at my School” and “Dancing the Manta Ray” before passionately bringing life to all fifteen of Doolittle’s influential tracks. The quartet brought all of the madness and bizarre brilliance that is Doolittle to the stage without missing a note, proving why their legacy is what it is.

Classics such as “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Hey,” and “Wave of Mutilation,” among other hits, were backed by inventive images and videos on the big screen behind the band.

The bands first encore included a peaceful and slowed down version of “Wave of Mutliation (UK surf),” followed by a mind-blowing performance of “Into the White,” which filled Hammerstein with an uncanny white smoke and strobe lights. The second encore of the evening included “Gigantic” and the crowd pleasing “Where is My Mind” accompanied by raging howls and cheers from the New York audience.

The band finished up the Doolittle tour on November 30^th at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. The future of the Pixies is as unknown as ever, but thanks to a mind-blowing tour and a commanding New York Performance, Doolittle’s legacy continues to live on through the ages as one of the most influential rock albums of all time. Now excuse me while I take a quick trip to Hammerstein, my mind is still splattered along the walls and floor.