blathercakes: November 2009

The Pixies

Fillmore Auditorium

November 16 and November 17

Denver

When I saw Frank Black (or Black Francis if you will) at the Walnut Room this summer at the end of July I was given the opportunity to be in an intimate venue where I was able to see a musician that I hugely admired up close. It really was special to me. I don't like standing up front and right under and in the eyeline of performers since I tend to get really geekie and sing along, but not for a minute did I hesitate to stand up front at this show. I wouldn't have missed it for the world. I thank F for keeping me under control and not too fan girl! I enjoyed the show and seeing him play and sing and perform for a small group was definately a highlight for me. I have been a fan since '89 when I was at Metro and the guy that I was going out with was way into the Dead I was into the Pixies and we broke up over it. It was the best thing to happen to me on many many levels. I really haven't given that time much thought until just now, but know that everything is so magical and it is nice that 2009 has Frank Black in it. I remember seeing The Pixies play the first of their reunion shows at Magness Arena with my brother in 2004. We sat on the stage left side and I was just in awe of Kim Deal. She was amazing that night. I didn't see them the following summer when they played at Red Rocks because I just didnt' want to shlep up there. I regretted it.

The day that the tickets went on sale I was so excited. Thrilled that they were touring, not so much on Dolittle as my favorite record pretty much is Surfer Rosa but Dolittle is a masterpeice so exciting to know they were playing in Denver who cares which album it was behind.

My friend G was out of the country when the tickets went on pre-sale and she was sad she wasn't able to get a ticket but I made sure that I covered her bases too. It was a pleasure to get the tickets ordered. When the tickets arrived in my mail box I think I might have elicited a little "squee".

We walked into the venue and for a sold out show it seemed very sparce. It would definately fill up later.

Monday night's opening band was No Age. A duo. They played their loud little hearts out for an exact 30 minutes. But sadly, for me, and some of my friends with me 30 minutes too long. They just gave it their all certainly, but it was just not to my liking. I suppose there is a novelty with a duo, from Los Angeles, on SubPop... but that wasn't even novel enough for me to be interested to take a picture even.

The show started with some parts of Un Chien Andalou. I ordered the movie from Netflix a while back and didn't get past the first three minutes of the movie (but it is only 16 minutes long... and for the record I should have stuck it out).

Here is part one:

and here is part two:

So why would The Pixies open the show with clips from this movie? Well story is that the song Debaser is based on Frank Black's recollections of the movie. I think I did actually know that story but I was interested to see what they did. They had this amazing LED set up behind the stage. The didn't show the whole movie but parts of it. F reminded me about the movie and the inspiration. It made perfect sence why the would open the show with it. And it was a nice respite from the opening band (which is sad to say but the opening washed away the 30 minutes we just experienced).

To say they rocked it is an understatement. It was so great to see them all playing together again. Kim Deal was seemingly enjoying it so much. The smile on her face was infectious I have to admit and standing with my friend who was plays bass too, was fun because he was impressed by how great she is.

They played the same set list prior to the second encore both nights, which makes sense because of the visuals tied to the songs from the LED screen. Neither night was a disappointment.

Night one pictures:

Night two was very different. We didn't stand in the back of the room (which was perfect for night one I have to admit!) but to the upper stage right. We got there early enough to see this night's opening band The Fluid. I was so bummed last summer at the Westword Music Showcase that we didn't get over to the stage they were playing on due to the hail storm and huddling under a tree for safety. We could sort of hear them but it wasn't the same being half a block away in a torrential rain storm. When they announced Night Two's opener it was really exciting.

One of the most exciting things was to be able to watch them play. It was and is a pleasure and such a treat to have this band from back in the hey day of Denver playing in what I see as the current hey day. It was all very exciting and so much fun. As their set built up the Fillmore filled. It was great to know that some people who might have not previously known about this great band, might have caught a glimpse. Yes their set was also only a half hour but it was a great half hour which I wish didn't come to a close as quickly as it did.

Singing along to the songs I kinda felt like an 18 year old kid back in 1985. It was really such a treat to be able to watch, sing along and listen to them rock. And ironic that they (The Fluid) were such an instrumental part of the burgeoning SubPop era back in the day. The Fluid were a better representation of SubPop bands than the first night opener. Thanks so much Live Nation for booking them. What a GREAT job.

The Pixies came out and played a fantastic set. Honestly I don't know how musicians do it, playing the music every night, so well, with great enthusiasm and excitement and don't make it boring for the audience. While the second encore the night before had this feverish intensity, parts of the show the second night had that energy. I found that I really did enjoy the show more this second night. I liked knowing the for the most part what the set order was and that it probably would be the same (which didn't bother me one bit actually). It really added to the enjoyment for me. Plus honestly since F wasn't covering the show watching him enjoy the show for the sheer enjoyment made it that much better, I have to admit.

I don't take it for granted that we had great seats and were able to see both shows. I am so lucky.