The Upstate Life

Thursday, December 09, 2004

TUL's Take: Pixies @ Constitution Hall

Wow. Last night's Pixies concert at Constitution Hall was simply incredible. We arrived at DAR around 7, navigating our way to our seats which, by the way, were f'ing amazing...12th row from the stage (orchestra section)! I've never been to Constitution Hall until last night, but it was a really nice venue, a change of pace from other places I've been to. I didn't mind the assigned seating that much, mainly because we were guaranteed an excellent viewing location compared to the struggle of getting towards the front at general admission events.

We sat through the majority of The Bennies set which was maybe 30 minutes or so. I'd say about a quarter of the Hall was filled at this time. I didn't know much about them, but honestly, didn't enjoy them much. I just couldn't get into their sound. Oh yeah, they were really, REALLY LOUD. It was to the point where my ears were ringing in between songs, and it was only the first of three bands to perform that night. TV on the Radio, one of the reasons I was excited to see the Wednesday show rather than Tuesday's with The Datsuns opening, rocked the house. Unfortunately, their set was limited to only a handful of songs which was kind of disappointing, but they still sounded great nonetheless. It's too bad not everyone was inside the Hall during TVOTR's performance as it was one of the better openings I've seen in quite sometime. "Staring at the Sun" was awesome live, and the lead singer was completely into every song the band performed. They concluded their set around 8:50 and it was soon time for The Pixies!

The band hit the stage around 9:15 to a huge standing ovation. No one sat down through the rest of the show, or at least in the orchestra section. They broke right into "Ed is Dead" and never stopped from there on out. They kept pounding out song after song, each sounding so tight it's like they were never away for all this time. If you were fortunate enough to have been there last night, then you could've easily noticed the band was having a ball up onstage. They just appeared to be having so much fun up there. Kim Deal was either smoking a cigarette while playing her bass or sipping on a Heineken between numbers. She's the coolest mom ever. "Bone Machine" and "Debaser" were probably my faves they played that night, though "Where Is My Mind" really stood out since it was such a quintessential choice as a closer. A little bit of a letdown that they didn't play "Dig for Fire", but I really shouldn't be one to complain. Overall, it was an evening filled with some fantastic music and I'm so glad I got to see them yesterday. I can't wait until the live CD I pre-ordered at the merch booth arrives! Setlist via the 9:30 Forum:

Ed is Dead
Gouge Away
Cactus
Bone Machine
River Euphrates
Velouria
I Bleed
Mr. Grieves
Monkey
Caribou
#13 Baby
Dead
Hey
Debaser
Tame
Gigantic
In Heaven
Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)
Here Comes Your Man
Nimrod's Son
Holiday Song
Vamos
Where Is My Mind

ENCORE:

Isla De Encanta
Something Against You
Crackity Jones
Broken Face

Posted by Brett at 3:42 PM |