Pixies at Chicago Theatre

The Chicago Theater is an incredible venue, but didn’t contribute to the ‘feel’ you would expect to have at a show with such an engaged and energetic audience.  Assigned seating and lack of movement during haunting melodies and high-octane crowd pleasers was awkward. 

The show opened (and closed actually) with “Wave of Mutilation” from the 1989 Doolittle but the crowd really came alive by number 4, “Debaser”.  They played a healthy mix of songs from their early years with a good sprinkling of the post Kim Deal era off of their new albums Indie Cindy and Head Carrier.  Others have commented on the lack of banter during the show now that Kim Deal has been replaced with Paz Lenchantin, and I noticed as well.  The Pixies were there to give a show, not talk to the audience.  That being said, it allowed for a set list with 30 plus songs in a 90 minute period of time.

Candidly, I only knew one maybe two of their songs before last night.  And while there was a good mix of “new” and “old” I was unable to differentiate at the concert either by style or by reaction from the audience.  A harsh critic could call this “lack of evolution”- I would say they have a distinctive and enduring style that resonates across multiple generations and are thankfully not relegated to living in the past.