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Pixies have been acclaimed as the most influential, pioneering band of the late 80s alt/rock movement, having served as a major influence for artists like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Radiohead, the Strokes, Weezer, and many more. And today, a whole new generation of music fans has been discovering and embracing the band's "loudquietloud" signature sound. Quirky, catchy melodies have always been Pixies' calling card; seven genre-defining studio albums, including the Gold-certified Surfer Rosa, and the iconic Platinum Doolittle, considered one of the all-time, quintessential alt/rock albums. Sell-out crowds all over the globe, Pixies' live shows are unadulterated magic, simultaneously electrifying and lo-fi. Seventy-five minutes of the band playing anything they want, in whatever order they want, the classics and the new gems. And no two Pixies shows are ever the same.
After disbanding in 1993, Pixies launched their reunion tour in April 2004, playing to sell-out crowds across the globe for 15 years, a far longer period of time than they were a band originally. But writing, recording, and releasing new music was something that the band had been wanting to do for a long time, so they secretly booked studio time in Wales for the fall of 2012. Six days into the recording, founding bassist Kim Deal decided to leave the band; Black Francis, Joey Santiago and David Lovering made the decision to carry on, finishing and releasing the band's first studio album in more than two decades, 2014's Indie Cindy.
As a prolific international touring band, Francis, Santiago, Lovering began working with a number of touring bassists, including former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin. The band are renowned for their emphatic live performances - where they play all four corners of the globe - their live sets regularly rack up to 30+ songs played - made even more impressive by the fact that there are no pre-planned setlists or soundchecks before the band walk onto the stage to play.
Twenty-sixteen's Head Carrier followed and marked the beginning of the band's long-standing collaboration with British producer Tom Dalgety. Twenty-eighteen's Beneath the Eyrie, the next full-length recording project with Dalgety, was recorded at Dreamland Studios near Woodstock, NY. The recording session was documented by the innovative "It's a Pixies Podcast," which captured a true un-edited record of the recording process. A deluxe edition followed, featuring unreleased demos from the Dreamland session.
Early 2022 saw the band and producer Dalgety settle into Guilford Studios in the woods of Vermont, armed with a true abundance of riches, more demos than were needed for the band's eighth album, Doggerel. Pixies renewed musical fervor saw a stand-alone single, "Human Crime," leap from the shadows in March 2022, and the band then headed out on the road to play sold-out shows in North America, headline BBC Radio 6 Music Festival in Cardiff, and play Mexico City's Vive Latino festival to 70,000 people. Pixies' first international tour since 2019 kicks off June 22 in Europe and will see the band performing in South America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
Doggerel (2022) is a mature yet visceral record of gruesome folk, ballroom pop and brutal rock haunted by the ghosts of affairs and indulgences, driven wild by cosmic forces and envisioning digital afterlives where no God has provided one.
Doggerel was toured worldwide to sell-out audiences across the entirety of 2022 and 2023 - with the very last show at Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles. Despite the band approaching their 38th year together, the crowds remain as diverse as ever - with new generations of fans emerging year-on-year who were not even born during Pixies 1.0. Pixies will return in 2024...
Bringing their A-game was on the agenda May 1. They were on! Normal type people serving up a crazy musical feast. Completely satiated.
They came out and just absolutely rocked the joint, legends. What a cool choice to play a whole album, and they slay'd it. Even though I was not all that familiar with that album, they just pounded it, like true professionals.
May 3rd 2011 is definetly a night to remember!! Spectacular sound and energy made for an amazing show!
The Pixies seem to have come to grips with their legend and their dignity and their pocketbooks and set out to give their fans, some of whom weren't around when it all started, what they want. Performing the entire Dolittle album this way seemed to work well. There wasn't the same stacking of crescendos at the end of the set that we sometimes see but the encores made up for that. The venue was intimate and the crowd were often ecstatic. Last time I saw them they were opening for a little Irish group named U2 and unfortunately the crowd were not that into them. It's good to see them get some of the love.
Best concert ever! Ive waited years and years to see the pixies and it was worth the wait!
The band was amazing. The music and the visuals were great. The Pixies still rock. Watching it at the amazing Orpheum theater was a great experience. The sound was great and the band looked swell on the stage.
You cant beat the Orpheum, it's really nice there! But Aside from that, the pixies are amazing to see. They played the whole doolittle album, some B sides, and had two encores Watch them if you can afford it, I'm really glad I went
I lalala love the Pixies! They sounded just as good as when I saw them 20 years ago! Fantabulous show!!!!!!!
I love Pixies music, but this show was one of the all-time worst shows I have seen, and I go to 15-20 mid-size or large shows a year. I was upper balcony at the Orpheum Vancouver, May 4 2011 and the sound system was terrible - could not understand a word all night unless I know what to expect (at least I knew the songs and the band banter was somewhat predictable ("goodnight charles" etc). The instruments were incredible muddy - BC Place (in my opinion the worst venue for sound) has sounded better. Also, Pixies set up too close to the front of the stage and it was impossible, sitting or standing (I'm 5'11"), to see anything other than the head of drummer Loverling all night. I have had good sound before at Orpheum, and I have never virtually not seen the band at a concert, so I have to point the finger at the Pixies and their crew. I am curious if anyone felt the same, because most of the tour reviews I read were good. This was the biggest concert disappointment of the last few years.
What a great show. Everybody was in a great mood. Kim was chatty with the crowd through the whole set. Loved the format, started with some Doolittle b-sides, then played the whole album start to finish. Two encores with everything else I wanted to hear. Well, except for Broken Face, I heard they played it the night before though.
Great show. They sounded awesome with a good stage show. I'd see them again in a heart beat.
Awesome! Better sound live! Next album tour Trompe le monde please!!
The band was tight. The music was loud. The songs were awesome... and, while the band wasn't too interested in witty banter (we were there to hear Doolittle not stories, after all), Deal and Lovering did reference the Canucks playoff game to a huge uproar from the sold out house. Overall, a first rate concert experience.
An amazing night. Took me back 20 years to the noisy, loud, melodic and passionate sounds of the day. Great to see them on stage again - will stay in my memory for years to come.
Awesome concert...well worth the twenty one year wait
Great concert, it was nice to finally see them live, and they play a great live show! They gave the crowd what they wanted and still left me wanting more!!!!
The Orpheum Theatre is an amazing venue for any concert. Absolutely, 100% great sound. The Pixies are an amazing band. They played most of my favorite songs and put on such a great show. Would recommend this band to anyone to see Live. Great show, great music and a great venue. What more could a person want for a night out !!!
Saw the Doolittle tour when I was a young teen, think it was even better this time.
I was totally impressed with the energy and ability of Pixies to pull off the album and the b-sides. The sound was great and the band seemed to be having fun too. Imaginary Cities was excellent as well.
I have been a huge fan of the Pixies for years, so naturally there was no question when I found out they were finally coming back to Calgary that I'd do whatever it took to get tickets. After skipping a university class to get tickets immediately as they went on sale and paying around $150.00 I was enthralled to go to the concert. When I got there and experienced the concert however, my excitement was somewhat diminished. For the price I paid I hoped for more than a lone (and redundant) soft rock/indie band to open for the legendary Pixies, an all-too-brief opening show which was disappointing to say the least. The question that lingers in my mind is For the price I paid why were there not two or three decent rock bands opening the show? After a disheartening opening the Pixies took the stage and delivered their album Doolittle with a dutiful, unremarkable presentation. The show was very low energy and it still bothers me days later that Black Francis, a man I've idolized for years, didn't have the decency to say more than perhaps a dozen words to the audience. I think differently of the Pixies now, for though they haven't lost their touch instrumentally, they are obviously out of touch with the audiences that support them. The show was over preposterously early (20:30 to be more precise) for the price I paid and the show had but two saving graces that made it worth my time at all. The first was the ever lovely Kim Deal, who spoke to the crowd as the main representative of the band, and the second was the longest encore I've ever seen. After completing the Doolittle album in performance, along with all possible B-Sides, The Pixies came back for their encore and continued to play a large selection of songs contained in their Greatest Hits album that comprised a considerably long encore. Despite this unexpected set list of Pixies classics the show was still over with enough time for a grandma or grandpa to get to bed at a reasonable hour, and I'm beginning to wonder if the Pixies had to wrap it up so early because Black Francis' dentures were getting sore or one or more band member was overdue for their arthritis medicine. Ultimately, this was not what I expected from a band that influenced Kurt Cobain and subsequently an entire generation of alternative rock, though there were a few pleasant surprises.
