Pixies Paradise In Amsterdam's Paradiso
Not a night to forget, but not a night that was entirely memorable either
Pixies played through their 1990-1991 albums Bossanova and Trompe le Monde back to back, from start to finish at a frantic pace- both stylistically and in the briefness of the breaks between songs. It took its toll on frontman Black Francis, who could have refilled the Amsterdam rivers if there was somehow a drought, with the amount of sweat that was pouring off his body.
You can’t blame him, given the effort behind the intense vocals, whilst also playing often complex guitar pieces simultaneously. For a man approaching 60, his vocals were exceptional. He doesn’t just shout- there is a skill to ensure he doesn’t destroy his voice, and he has mastered it.
Bossanova and Trompe le Monde are not as popular as Surfa Rosa and Doolittle, although they are delightful to the type of people who can’t get their noses out of books on music theory- that’s one way of putting it. With odd chord choices and breakneck guitar playing, it verges on a more intellectual spin on punk.
Musically, it’s outstanding, and it’s no wonder it preceded the breakthrough of Nirvana. It was played to perfection, but you do start to wonder if it leans towards pretentious- at times, it felt like just maybe, the band were enjoying themselves more than the crowd.
This could definitely be said for the encore, which included: Vegas Suite, Wave of Mutilation, Hey, Cactus, and lastly…Caribou, which frankly was dull enough to kill the mosh pit that had been bouncing throughout Trompe Le Monde.
Pixies are a legendary band and it’s easy to brown-nose artists in gig reviews, especially someone as iconic as this group, but that doesn’t make them immune to criticism. These two albums are cleverly written, unique, and certain songs are packed with this brilliant energy of fury. However, they aren’t as popular as Surfa Rosa and Doolittle, arguably for a reason, and at times, the crowd seemed bored, although at times, they were raving for it, which is potentially a consequence of playing through any album in its entirety. It’s very rare for an album to be incredible from start to finish, especially if it’s a band’s 3rd or 4th best record.
The diehard fans were in for a Lovely Day, and Blown Away by Pixie’s tight performance, but it was Stormy Weather for those who prefer and were expecting the band’s earlier records; they may feel ‘ils ont été trompés’ (they were deceived).