Monkey Gone To Glasgow (Pixies SECC Glasgow October 4th 2009)

I remember the first time I heard Debaser, Kim Deal's rumbling bassline combined with Frank Black's screaming vocals just made me want to explode. It was almost as if the feelings this song evoked in me were just too much to contain. I'm the kind person who gets obsessed with a song, listens to it ad nauseam and then goes off it but I have never tired of Debaser and it still the one song that is always guaranteed to get me on the dance floor. In spite of my undying love for the Pixies, Sunday's gig at the SECC was the first time I'd ever seen them live. The first time around my eleven year old self was too busy listening to the Shoop Shoop Song. When they reformed my adult self felt sceptical about paying to see a band (with a well documented history of not being able to stand each other) blatantly milking the cash cow. However, when they announced a tour in honour of Doolittle's twentieth birthday I decided it would be down right rude not to go along and celebrate this fantastic album's conception.




Sunday's show opened with footage from the film that inspired the song Debaser, Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali's Un Chien Andalou. I could hear mumbles of 'what the hell is this?' from the crowd but I think it was more a case of fascination than disgust. The dark and surreal visuals put the music into context and set the scene brilliantly. I knew that they would be playing Doolittle in its entirety so I expected them to go straight in to Debaser but instead they started with a Doolittle related b-side Dancing The Manta Ray. This was a great way to inject an element of surprise into the performance as playing an album in order definitely lacks the anticipation department.



After a few more b-sides Weird At My School, Bailey's Walk, Manta Ray they finally launched into Doolittle. The set went by in a flash because I was effectively just listening to an album that I already know inside out. The performance was slick but as is often the case at big arena gigs, I could hardly see the band and found myself watching the visuals on the screen instead of watching the barely visible band. I had a sinking feeling that I could have saved myself thirty quid and listened to the album at home. There were a few quips from Kim but Frank didn't speak to the crowd once and they just plowed through the album with little variation from the original recording.

Although, I was feeling content about having finally seen the Pixies live I was definitely not as elated as I hoped I would be. I found myself desperate to hear songs from Surfa Rosa and Come on Pilgrim so I was a tad disappointed when they returned for an encore of Wave Of Mutilation (UK Surf) and Into The White. I mean, Wave of Mutilation is a great song but how many versions of it do you need in one set?



What I didn't anticipate was the second encore. This was where my beloved Pixies really delivered the goods. I expected them to take the cash and run so when the strode back on stage the most I was hoping for was Where is my Mind? Instead they played, The Holiday Song, Nimrod's Son, Caribou, Broken Face, Something Against You, Vamos, Isla De Encanta and finally, Where Is My Mind? The second encore completely blew me away and hearing my unexpected favourites Caribou and Broken Face live finally soothed my cynical soul. After twenty years Frank can still scream like tormented male banshee and Kim Deal is still the coolest woman ever to hold a bass guitar.