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.

Relive the Reunion

There's a very good quality recording of Braid's reunion show in Champaign at The Highdive at Cloak and Dagger Media. Get it here.

There's also a feature with David Bazan.

Blissful Colorado

OK, I’m back. My sweet, sweet vacation is over. I’m just now posting about it because I had a pile of work to do upon my return. Welcome back me. Total fish count: 9.

My wife, Rebekah, and I had a grand ol’ time in Colorado. We were enveloped in perfect weather and beautiful scenery. We caught up on much needed relaxation.

We first headed to the mile-high city, Denver, where we would catch the Sunday night NFL match between the Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs. This was our second trip to the stadium, but our first for a regular season game. The two teams are heated division rivals, which greatly added to the anticipation and excitement of the game. The game did not disappoint. It was a close one until the fourth quarter when the Broncos pulled ahead for good.

Then we were off to Steamboat Springs, a ski resort community. Thanks to Rebekah’s Aunt and Uncle, they provided us a stay at their condo free of charge. You can’t beat that. There’s a long stretch of the I-70 freeway that goes right through the Rockies. It’s surrounded by gorgeous scenery. Plus, you get to drive through one mountain via the Eisenhower Tunnel. Fun.

Steamboat Springs is only 42 miles from where I was born and lived for 14 years. Despite living that close, I’ve only been to Steamboat previously a handful of times. Too bad, since it’s much nicer than Craig.

We visited a couple of lakes, one in which I fished. I mainly fished out of the Yampa River, though. There I caught 6 Rainbow Trout. At the lake I caught two Cutthroat Trout and one at a river in Durango on the way back. It happened to be behind our motel there so I thought “what the heck, I’ll fish it.” They were all very small but I caught a nice fat Rainbow that was around 10 inches.

The weather was mostly in the mid 70s. One day it was in the low 60s and that night’s low dipped down to the 30s. Crisp! One of my favorite things I did there, besides fish, was to sit outside on the patio at night and drink hot chocolate in a t-shirt and shorts.

On the way back we took the Million Dollar Highway through the San Juan Skyway. Spectacular views there. Oh, the trees were changing colors so that added to everything.

We coudln't pass up the Four Corners either. It's the only place in the U.S. where you can be in four states all at the same time!

Well, I could go on and on. I took a ton of pictures. Once I get them back I’ll post them up somewhere for all to see. They’ll tell the rest of the story.

Tonight

Tonight the Pixies are playing. And I've got film class. Quick decision: I'm going to the Pixies.

I mean, nothing's due really. Our storyboards are, but I already showed mine to the teacher weeks ago. If I don't show up with the storyboards, it's not like she's going to say "well gee, Brock must have decided not to do the work". And it's The Pixies. I planned on going to this show months ago.

I'll just go to class tomorrow.

-Brock