Promised to the Night

There I’m standing in a dirty and claustrophobic elevator, standing next to Gabe, his wife and my brother Parker, when this lady in a business suit and sneakers squeezes in. I’m not kidding you; she was wearing a grey suit, very empowering, with a pair of what looked like jogging sneakers. An odd combination. I must admit however that she was a perceptive one. She caught on to the mood of the night soon enough. “Quite a big show they’re having over there” she said, in reference to the Mesa Amphitheater. Gabe informed her that it was the Pixies paying, to which, she surprisingly replied, “No kidding? Frank Black, right?” For a nighttime businesswoman in sneakers, this girl knew her music. We all smiled immediately and nodded. Yeah, it was Frank Black we were going to see. “Long time coming, huh?” she asked. It was an outright crackup.
Yeah, it’s been a long time coming, especially for fans of the rock group. The Pixies called it quits years ago due to disagreements between Frank Black and Kim Deal and have only recently joined back together. During their departure, the band’s reputation grew notorious within the music industry. The likes of Kurt Cobain, Thom Yorke and Isaac Brock extolled the virtues of the outlandish musicians in their absence, and the public only grew fonder of them. Songs like “Tromp Le Mond” and “Velouria” were popularized in tributes pieced together by Weezer and Braid while their most infamous song, “Where Is My Mind”, grew into a slow burning classic. When the band announced their reunion earlier this year, sheer pandemonium resulted.
Following a mini-tour in small-time Canadian and American cities, the Pixies culminated their grand reunion in a show-stopping performance at the 2004 Coachella Festival. I was there. Gabe was there. And we both knew that we had to see them again when they came to Phoenix.
So there we were, on our way to the show helmed by Frank Black and his cohorts. By the time we arrived the band had just launched into their set, which was a powerful combination of old and even older material. Classics that swept the Coachella Festival were met with great response at the Mesa Amphitheater. The band broke out songs like “Here Comes Your Man”, “Monkey Gone to Heaven” and “Velouria” to sate the responsive crowd. But much to my pleasure, they also dished out a few songs they hadn’t played at Coachella, songs like “Subbacultcha”, “Is She Weird”, “River Euphrates” and “Planet of Sound”. And there were a few rarities to characterize the set as well (like “In Heaven” “The Holiday Song” and “Winterlong”).

Thanks to Black’s onstage persona and the musicianship of his band mates, it was an energetic and lively show. As good as Coachella? Probably not. But part of the reason why Coachella was so good was because it was their grand reentrance into the music scene. By the time they hit the Mesa Amphitheater, everyone knew that they were probably going to stay together and record a brand new album. Everyone had seen them on the cover of Spin or read about them on Pitchfork. Yes, if their performance at the Mesa Amphitheater proved anything, it’s that the Pixies are here to stay.

On a related note, I just wanted to mention how cool the Mesa Amphitheater was. I’d never been there before. But Gabe and Rebeckah were right in telling me that it was a great venue. Not a bad seat in the house. In fact, it kind of reminded me of one of my favorite venues, the Coors Amphitheater in San Diego. Definitely the kind of place you want to see a band at.