My 16-year-old daughter, Iris, is probably the most enthusiastic and positive person I've ever known. So when I asked her to write up the Pixies' show as part of our sporadic series of Kids Say the Darnedest Things About Music posts, I figured she'd have nothing but good things to say about the band. And other than some borderline agism, I was right.
But I pretty much agree with her take. It was a great show, or at least I thought it was compared to the last time I saw them, at the Nokia (now Verizon) Theatre at Grand Prairie. Nokia's movie theater seating doesn't allow for the abandon that such a great band deserves from its crowd. Getting a Lakewood Hop Trapp and Shirley Temple for $11 total rather than the $11 apiece they'd have probably been at Nokia probably helped matters too.
This time, rather than interview her for comments about the show, I figured it'd be easier to just let her write the thing herself. Plus, it'll take just about the whole freelance check for her to pay me back for the tour T-shirt she got.
By Iris Hughey
Going into the venue for the Pixies concert, a lot was running through my mind. I pretty much grew up listening to the Pixies because of my parents, so I didn't really know what to expect from them live. Will they sound crummy now that Kim Deal is gone? Are they going to be just a bunch of old geezers whose days of performing onstage are numbered? Even with some thoughts of doubt, I was still really stoked to be seeing my first ever Pixies concert.
After talking to a few people my dad and I knew, we found a place in the large room to stand. A few songs played on the speakers as we awaited the Pixies, and I began to doodle in my notepad until the lights dimmed down and everyone began to cheer. They were onstage. The actual Pixies band was onstage, just 50 feet or so away from me. Without speaking, they got their instruments on and began playing the first song of the night, "Bone Machine."
It was awesome. Everyone was either screaming, jumping up and down, or bobbing their heads to the beat. I, personally, switched back and forth among the three. Everything was perfect -- the cheering crowd, the fog machine and even the lights in the background, which were simple but added great contrast to the Pixies' roaring vocals and booming instrumentals.
After one of their slower songs ended, they began to play the intro to a song that I, along with everyone else, immediately recognized, "Where Is My Mind." "Oooh-oooh," everyone sang along. "Where Is My Mind" is definitely one of the Pixies' most popular songs that everyone knows, so the entire room was singing along. The band's energy began to reflect off the crowd, and in the last verse of the song, Black Francis held out the microphone for the room to sing into. That was probably one of the greatest moments of the night.
At some point, Joey Santiago stopped playing mid-song and whispered something into Black Francis' ear. They both nodded to each other and everyone in the crowd quieted down a bit. Suddenly, Santiago began twirling his guitar around by the strap and doing some random feedback solos. He also went on the higher part of the stage and did a few jumps off it with his guitar, which the crowd got a good kick out of. It was great!
Another highlight of the night was when the drummer, David Lovering, sang in a hilarious song that I'd never heard before called "La La Love You." That was definitely another crowd favorite. After "La La Love You," the band stopped playing and put their instruments down. I thought they were going to leave, but the crowd continually cheered and they walked back (without ever even leaving the stage) and began to play "Debaser."
The crowd was so fired up at that point, that at the chorus of the song, people began to crowd surf! There were at least five people that I could see that surfed, and I almost wanted to myself, but figured I'd enjoy myself a lot more by not being dropped on a hard floor by a bunch of drunk people. When the concert ended, I felt great! It was so much better than I expected! They did not by any means disappoint, and that was definitely one of the best concerts I have ever been to.
