| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| darwin |
Posted - 04/29/2004 : 23:08:28
It simply rocked. I've got no set list (they didn't play Into the White or Winterlong), but they did play Caribou (which was a big one for me). One encore. They seemed to have a great time. Frank in particular seemed to be eating up the applause at the end of the regular set. The crowd was into it. When I got there it seemed too California mellow, but people picked it up and the annoying mosh pit was going most of the time. |
| 18 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| darwin |
Posted - 05/06/2004 : 20:38:31
quote:
Originally posted by astrocat
I went to the first Eugene show and Davis (among others). Don't know how the mosh pit was at either, since I wasn't in that area at these shows, but the Eugene show was much better. I'd been warned about Bay area crowds. Before the show I gave them the benefit of the doubt since this was going to be the Pixies reunited. I figured they'd go just as nuts as anywhere else. But, no, they lived up to their reputation. I was actually shocked at the lack of sound (screaming) that welcomed the Pixies to the stage. WTF? This was the fifth show I'd seen on this tour and the crowd's enthusiasm seriously lacked compared to any of the other shows I went to. The crowd did finally warm up around the time they played Dead and Debaser, but there shouldn't have to be a warm-up period for the crowd at these Pixies shows. Except for a couple of drunk guys, everyone around where I was just stood there emotionless and unexcited. I was very disappointed in the audience.
Thanks for the long review. I have to disagree about the crowd. I was down on the floor to the right of the mosh pit (if you're facing the stage) and people around seemed way into it (sometimes too into it for my tastes, please don't air drum by my head). As you said Freeborn isn't a good space (that's why they just built the Mondavi Center) and it also seemed like the hall wasn't completely filled (maybe some scalpers had to eat tickets). Maybe those two problems contributed to less than a roar when they came out. |
| astrocat |
Posted - 05/06/2004 : 18:49:27
I went to the first Eugene show and Davis (among others). Don't know how the mosh pit was at either, since I wasn't in that area at these shows, but the Eugene show was much better. I'd been warned about Bay area crowds. Before the show I gave them the benefit of the doubt since this was going to be the Pixies reunited. I figured they'd go just as nuts as anywhere else. But, no, they lived up to their reputation. I was actually shocked at the lack of sound (screaming) that welcomed the Pixies to the stage. WTF? This was the fifth show I'd seen on this tour and the crowd's enthusiasm seriously lacked compared to any of the other shows I went to. The crowd did finally warm up around the time they played Dead and Debaser, but there shouldn't have to be a warm-up period for the crowd at these Pixies shows. Except for a couple of drunk guys, everyone around where I was just stood there emotionless and unexcited. I was very disappointed in the audience.
The sound problems I'd not heard at the other shows as well.
The venue didn't help either of these matters. A large gym basically. No atmosphere, not even the low-down feel of the Victoria Curling Club, although it was about the same size, maybe a bit bigger. I did like the wooden floor and it's "give" so you could feel the jumping of the crowd in the middle way out to the side, where I was.
I was also surprised by the unproportionately large numbers of tall males in the crowd. It is the tallest crowd at a show I've ever seen! Which means that no matter where I tried to stand I couldn't see very well at all. It seemed if you were below 5' 8" you had to be either right at the front barrier or right at the rail of the raised sections on the sides to see.
The security guard by me was crazy. She did not help me enjoy this show either. As soon as she saw me take my camera out (they allowed "non-professional" cameras) she kept staring at me, telling me not to use flash, before I'd even taken a picture. I think she told me four or five times through the show, and I never used flash once. She did this to everyone that had a camera. She barreled through the crowd at one point and dragged this guy out of the crowd by gripping his "professional" camera by the strap and walking off with him still attached to the other side. Once out of the crowd she yelled at this guy for three minutes about having that camera in there. Granted, he wasn't supposed to have it, but I'd have slapped that woman if she'd grabbed my big, expensive camera that way and used it as a leash the way she did. She took his camera away, but luckily he got the memory card out before. Then she barreled back into the crowd towards the end. I thought a fight must have broken out the way she was pushing people out of the way. But no, it was just a guy smoking. She grabbed the cigarette out of his mouth and barreled back out of the crowd with it like she was escorting a homicidal maniac out of the crowd. Geez...some people are too drunk with power...
I could see very little, so I don't really know many visual details that happened onstage. I do know Joey did mess with the pedals in Vamos. I've got a video snippet from my digital still camera of that part of the solo. I couldn't see anything he was doing, but I held my camera way above my head and caught some of the action. It must have been after the drumstick playing as my video starts with him kneeling down playing with the pedals and ends when he stood back up at the end of the solo.
I thought FB said something like, "Should we play that song at all?" when they messed up Wave of Mutilation at the beginning. Can someone confirm that with the disclive recording?
I was extremely happy to hear U-Mass which I'd not gotten to hear at the other shows, but I thought it sounded slow and stilted. I was really hoping to hear Planet of Sound when they played U-Mass (before they'd always played those two at the same shows and I'd not seen those shows), but they didn't. What a tease!
They did stay on stage to soak up the crowd response after the regular set for longer than I'd seen them do. They seemed to be joking a lot with each other during it and I know (from the photos I took) that Frank was drinking out of his bottle (beer I presume ) that whole time. Hadn't seen him drink much on stage during the tour. They seemed very conscious that this was the last of the "warm-up" tour and gave it an end of tour feel with the joking and extra time standing at the front of the stage.
Still, with all the things that annoyed me about this show, it was a good show. It's incredible to see the Pixies playing again and the "bad" shows still seriously kick ass! |
| TJ |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 23:26:34
Glad I wasn't on the floor with you stinkers heheh. There was one bomb dropped in my area early on, but I think that was it. How many of you did the Eugene/Davis road trip? How did the mosh pits compare? I had a lot more fun at the Eugene show being on the floor...even having to deal with the moshers and rail crashers. |
| formeremployee |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 20:32:49
Haha, King Of Karaoke, from where you were located it doesn't sound like we were in the same place, but for a good 20 minutes before the pixies went on and then a good while into the set, someone around me and my girfriend were rocking the wet farts. It would come and go, but after a while the smell just sat there, so I think the poor guy finally pushed too hard and leaked. Maybe both of our gas machines ate at the same place before the show.
And Pants, we'll definitely have to meet up before the show in september. I'll be going to the Friday show, but so far my brother is going to the Saturday show. And yes, it probably wouldn't hurt to find out who some of you other crazy people are. ;) |
| Antoinette |
Posted - 05/05/2004 : 15:29:31
Flat in a few spots maybe, but when they were on it was f**king sick. You could even tell from their faces that they knew they were locked down and totally into it -- No. 13 Baby, Tame, Dead, Debaser esp. FB howled like a maniac and shredded his voice by the encore. Muy bien. |
| PsychicTwin |
Posted - 05/02/2004 : 23:46:58
It appears you caught a whiff of my handiwork (;
yes, the Pixies were definitely not as tight as the Catholics...Isla De Encanta was especially sloppy. But they really shined on songs like Velouria, Caribou, Here Comes Your Man, Monkey and a couple more. and Joey's guitar tone was scorching...gave me chills sometimes.
Also, in the second "RE-PENT" part of Caribou, Frank fucking SCREAMED that shit the 2nd time like a blood-curdling demon from the pits of hell, and I almost burst with fucking joy. Good good shit
I actually flew out to Cali from DC for the show (stayed w/ a friend in Sac, and then visited some more friends in Berkeley/SF over the weekend)
As much as I would love to go to the Berkeley show as well, it is probably not an option as you could well imagine. Though my buddy who lives in Berk said that he might be doing the poster art for that show (he previously did the art for a Ween show at Greek Theatre) |
| The King Of Karaoke |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 18:30:17
quote:
Originally posted by PsychicTwin
I woulda definitely liked to run into some forum peeps as well...just didn't know who you all were!
I was the guy in a gray t-shirt and dark hair who sparked a fatty as the 2nd song started...kind of left-and-center, I guess, towards the middle.
I've seen tighter Frank shows as well, King of Karaoke...I was actually thinking that exact same thing. But the experience of seeing the Pixies on stage doing their thing was fucking mindblowing for me. Awesome show, despite the sound and technical problems
I'm surprised how much better you can hear everything on the DiscLive CD..
Did anyone else have the pleasure of waiting in that line of about 5 million people for a Disclive CD? Good lord
________________________
"I'd rather the stuff I do be half a dozen people's favorite thing, as opposed to 10 million people's ninth-favorite thing." -Ricky Gervais
I could smell that fatty! That was you?!
I could also smell the fatty in front of me that was letting loose with the noxious fumes
Actually it was this little skinny fucker that kept dropping and bailing. Then he'd show up and reclaim his spot five minutes later.
I was like, quit jumping all over the place if you can't control your bowels you smelly little freak!
Seriously uncool dude!
If you were to face the stage I was to the right, up off the floor.
The dashingly handsome fellow.
Fb.net meeting, before the berkley show - sounds like a plan.
I guess I should get tickets
I was in line for my disc, then figured I'd rather pay the five bucks to have it shipped, than sit there all night.
------------------------------------
Confucious say - The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next.
He also say my lucky numbers are: 16 27 36 23 11
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
|
| nmusler |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 16:57:50
Yeah, the line was absolutely out of control and people just kept merging in from the sides like they were on the freeway or something.
Seeing the Pixies was amazing, but I'm really looking forward to future Frank solo and Catholic shows so that the playing can be as spot on as the songs.
Maybe there should be some sort of bay area pre-show FB.net gathering before the 1st show at Greek in Septmeber. Could be fun to meet up with everyone.
N-
"My heart is in my cranium and it still knows how to pound" |
| PsychicTwin |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 16:48:45
I woulda definitely liked to run into some forum peeps as well...just didn't know who you all were!
I was the guy in a gray t-shirt and dark hair who sparked a fatty as the 2nd song started...kind of left-and-center, I guess, towards the middle.
I've seen tighter Frank shows as well, King of Karaoke...I was actually thinking that exact same thing. But the experience of seeing the Pixies on stage doing their thing was fucking mindblowing for me. Awesome show, despite the sound and technical problems
I'm surprised how much better you can hear everything on the DiscLive CD..
Did anyone else have the pleasure of waiting in that line of about 5 million people for a Disclive CD? Good lord
________________________
"I'd rather the stuff I do be half a dozen people's favorite thing, as opposed to 10 million people's ninth-favorite thing." -Ricky Gervais |
| The King Of Karaoke |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 15:28:10
I was stoked to see the pixies. Good show. I've seen tighter Frank shows but just being at a Pixies show is a surreal experience for me.
I wish I had known who some of the other forum members were that attended. I would have liked to say hi.
I had a black, long sleeve Wavelengths Surf Shop (of Morro Bay) shirt on.
You should have said hello.
------------------------------------
Confucious say - The philosophy of one century is the common sense of the next.
He also say my lucky numbers are: 16 27 36 23 11
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/
|
| PsychicTwin |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 13:50:49
The show was good, other than the technical mess-ups and the horrible sound. I don't know if it was the sound system or what, but some of the faster songs (Isla De Encanta) sounded muddy for some reason. Caribou was amazing, as was Velouria, and Broken Face.
________________________
"I'd rather the stuff I do be half a dozen people's favorite thing, as opposed to 10 million people's ninth-favorite thing." -Ricky Gervais |
| pants |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 12:38:55
formeremployee
was looking for you too, but no luck. we'll have to meet up for the greek. give us a review of cochella when you can, hope that's as fun. |
| john |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 12:14:38
I really enjoyed the show. I felt they were fighting the sound techs through the first half (or more) of it, so that probably is why they were a little flat. Joey changed guitars midway through a song due to technical problems; there was a lot of feedback going on as well. It also felt like a high school gym, so it wasn't the optimal venue either. Glad i was able to catch it, hopefully I'll see them at the Greek. |
| nmusler |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 11:38:07
quote:
Originally posted by darwin
It simply rocked. I've got no set list (they didn't play Into the White or Winterlong), but they did play Caribou (which was a big one for me). One encore. They seemed to have a great time. Frank in particular seemed to be eating up the applause at the end of the regular set. The crowd was into it. When I got there it seemed too California mellow, but people picked it up and the annoying mosh pit was going most of the time.
It was great to see them, but from what I've read about the other shows this one seemed a little flat. The band got off to a rough start, but clicked later on. I thought "Hey" was the best song of the night. I Can't wait for the Berkeley show after they've been giging for a few months. They should be really tight by then or broken up again...
Here's the set list:
Bone Machine
Wave of Mutilation (Kim messes up at the start and there is a funny exchange from Frank about how they've never messed up the song))
No. 13 Baby
Caribou
Cactus
Subbacultcha
Dead
Debaser
Monkey Gone To Heaven
Broken Face
Something Against You
Isla de Encanta
Gouge Away
Tame
Levitate Me
Hey
Here Comes Your Man
Holiday Song
Nimrod's Son
Where Is My Mind
Vamos (Joey's guitar work on this song was cool.)
Encore:
Velouria
U-Mass
Gigantic
I think this is the shortest show of the warm-up tour. I'd love to see the show down in Indio if only it wasn't in the middle of the desert w/ about 50 billion people. Oh well. I can wait until September.
My heart is in my cranium and it still knows how to pound |
| brokencalfornian |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 11:32:04
Unfortunately for me, I made it to the show (without tickets) 2 hours late, and ended up sitting outside, catching the last three songs: Velouria, U-Mass, and Gigantic. I missed the encore due to my ride wanting to leave. Too bad. |
| Noah Nelson |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 09:27:09
On Vamos, Joey brought his guuitar stand over to the middle of the stage and set his guitar up on it. He then got the drumstick and some playing on the guyita with the stick.
Right as Frank Black was starting Holiday Song, Lovering did that Catholic cross move where you go from your forehead, down, and left and right on your chest right before he started the drum part. Pretty damn funny. |
| formeremployee |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 01:52:51
Hey pants, I kept an eye out but didn't recognize you, though it sounds like we were in about the same spot. I agree with the muffled vocals. As far as I could tell, joey was just playing his guitar with david's drumstick.
It'll be interesting to see how they do saturday at coachella for their first "official" gig. |
| pants |
Posted - 04/30/2004 : 01:06:34
i loved it too, but compared to the 27th in eugene, it wasn't as good, sound wise and crowd wise. and again there was a ton of room. i was in the middle of the stage about 45-55 feet back and had so much room. which was great for me, but you could have still packed in like 200-300 more fans. on the first or second song there was some mess up but couldn't understand anything being said at all by frank and kim, too muffled. also during vamos, was bummed i wasn't up front too see what joey was doing. he laid the guitar down and not sure then if he was just using the pedals or what cause he also got a drum stick from david. but couldn't see what he was doing with it, but didn't really matter cause it sounded way cool. also saw david walking around the quad before the show, but i was too far away to go up to him and then when i went around the corner looking for him he was getting into the bus. was great to hear subbaculture and umass, and isla, those weren't played in euegene when i was there. was a lot of fun, can't wait for berkeley in 5 months. |
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