Pixies @ O2 Academy Brixton, London - November 28, 2016

33 songs is a lot for the average concert. But, I was really surprised at some of the omissions. It made sense when I checked the setlist for this blog entry, and saw the following night's setlist in the same venue. They almost didn't repeat themselves. This would have been awesome for the fan attending both shows, of course. So, I missed Wave of Mutilation, Monkey Gone To Heaven, Gigantic, and some lesser gems like Is She Weird and Subacultcha. But, fortunately I got to hear U-Mass, my favourite Pixies song, to which I lost my shit over. As you do. Because they're touring in support of their new album, Head Carrier, I was expecting to hear the first single which I really like, Um Chagga Lagga. The next night's fans got that treat.

We got a good spot with a view of centre stage, and I spent much of the show letting the Pixies sound/noise wash over me. It was a slow builder, and no one in the band addressed the audience, but slowly you get swept into their sonic sea. The early songs are mostly back lit, obscuring the detail of their faces, as they seemingly take their time letting us into their world. Then the full colour hits and by the first notes of Here Comes Your Man, we are fully welcomed in, with the attendant singalong.

It was great to experience the Pixies' sound live, having loved many of their albums and tracks for years. Some bands are all about showmanship or energy or loudness, but the Pixies' live are all about the sound. And they got it right. It was special, and before a brief encore, the band took a bowing curtain call, which you don't often see at rock shows. Then, just before they came back on, the dry ice machine belched a massive wave over us. As it cleared, it was like emerging from a warzone, grey and surreal. As the Pixies played Into The White in the eerie fog, the new bassist Paz Lenchantin stood silhouetted with her low slung bass and sang almost motionlessly. Then more massive waves of dry ice buffeted us. It was by far the most I've ever experienced and then that was repeated half a dozen times. This final destination was a fittingly atmospheric representation of the enveloping aural journey we'd been taken on.

Setlist:
Where Is My Mind?
Nimrod's Son
Break My Body
Brick Is Red
Winterlong (Neil Young cover)
Blown Away
Mr.Grieves
La La Love You
Ana
All the Saints
Here Comes Your Man
Motorway to Roswell
Magdalena 318
Tenement Song
Classic Masher
Head On (Jesus and Mary Chain cover)
U-Mass
I've Been Tired
Velouria
Havalina
Snakes
Caribou
Rock Music
Baal's Back
Isla de Encanta
Oona
Planet of Sound
All I Think About Now
Hey
Gouge Away
Debaser
Tame

Encore:
Into the White