BY ERIN DAGE
All Photos Courtesy of Erin Dage
Though some may argue that it’s a big deal that bassist Kim Deal left the Pixies, fans showed up in full force to a sold out show at the Fox Theater in Oakland this past Friday. With a smattering of young and old Pixies fans alike, the crowd gathered to hear a band that has arguably showed the world that alternative bands lacking virtuoso-like skills can make it “big”.
Opening with “Bone Machine” off of their debut album, Surfer Rosa, the Pixies were off to a good start as the crowd cycled between singing along and bobbing their head thoughtfully to the song.
It should be noted that for the first few songs, the audience was tame. But things quickly changed as the Pixies started to play songs off its most popular album, Doolittle. Playing a string of jams such as “Crackity Jones”, “Wave of Mutilation”, “Mr. Grieves”, “Here Comes Your Man” and “Monkey Gone to Heaven”, the crowd measured up to an appropriate level of rowdiness. And as the band played songs off Doolittle, it was truly interesting to see how one album can bring people together.
Besides playing songs from Doolittle, the band was sure to play other songs off Surfer Rosa, Trompe Le Monde, and even its new single, “Bag Boy’”.
As the show was nearing a close, Pixies guitarist Joey Santiago went into a simplistic and noisy “solo” that conveniently wowed show-goers. The band then ended with a few songs and pretended to leave (as any band of a certain popularity and success does) to gear up for its encore.
Valiantly returning to the stage, the band ended the show with Doolittle opening track “Debaser” and Trompe Le Monde jam “Head On.”
All in all, it was great to see that the Pixies have kept a certain formula over the years, without becoming stale.
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