They are back! After lockdowns, re-schedules and resets, Pixies finally made their way back to NZ.
Throwing in hits from Come on Pilgrim, Surfer Rosa, Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde, the band had an excessive back catalogue to dig deep into. Mixing in the usual combination of Francis' banshee-like wailing, Santiago's ferocious guitar, Lovering's powerhouse drumming and harmonies in the least expected of places, they all provided short punky bursts of bluster on vinyl.
While Pixies have been playing these songs since 1986, they've lost none of the frivolity of their experimental furiousness, even if the structure's been tinkered with.
With no two sets the same, the second night at Auckland - and then Christchurch - will be an entirely different musical experience. They know exactly what they're doing and how to gear up the audience and bring them along for the journey.
What remains constant about the Pixies' concert experience is their awe-inducing capacity and energy. For a band that blazed so brightly back in the late '80s and '90s, they've lost none of their fire as a live act; one that not even the Auckland drizzle could dampen as the evening came to a close.
This article was first published on newshub.co.nz by Darren Bevan
Photos provided by Adam Jones Photography
