Pixies/Slow Pulp, May 12, 2023 at Encore Theater

We weren’t necessarily going to go out of our way to see Pixies yet again, after all this time and all the shows we’ve been to and for how frequently disappointing they’ve been for too long, but we could meet up with friends, who could be excited about seeing them, though for us it was more about getting out of the house and, in this case, having an excuse to go to Vegas, which is an easy trip. I’d seen Pixies with Seth already -- a legendary evening -- and he might even have taken Adrianne to one of the shows in Kansas; Carla was as minimally as excited as me. It was the first time we’d been to the Wynn Theater, as usual the minotaur in the middle of a maze that is any casino, and probably gone by the time we were interested in another show, for how quickly places come and go in Vegas. But clean, and not huge, about right for a legendary band not consistently earning arena status on their own. They were grinding through another tour, this time for Doggerel, yet another lackluster effort, more fully establishing a lack of hope that they were going to produce anything even approaching the greatness of their classics, which they still play dutifully, even while losing some to inferior new tracks. It was the same dirge of a concert, plodding through the old stuff and drudging through new stuff, but finally, for the last third, somewhere around “Gouge Away” they got some energy from somewhere and approximated like they might have wanted to be there. They either woke up or the alcohol kicked in (either theirs or ours), but it finally sounded like it could be intense like they used to be, even seeping into some of the new stuff. There could even have been a chance that they could make the new stuff sound like Pixies songs they could be. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much show left for too much of it, but it was enough to redeem the show, even if just for making it not a crashing bore like they’ve been for too long. Paz helped -- she’s not Kim, but even approximating that natural charm goes a long way, and it’s better than having to hear Frank force out some banter (if Joey and Dave aren’t allowed to speak). In all, not the worst show, and if not renewing hope that they might be able to turn in an electric show again, it was at least catching the rare instance when they might have cared for some of it. Slow Pulp opened, then got some traction later, but we didn't see enough of them, just on when we got there and were settling into our seats, to see if they were interesting for the association. A good night out with friends regardless of the show, lots of drinks, and in navigating the way out through the maze, we found ice cream.

Pixies’ set-list:

"Cactus"

"The Holiday Song"

"Mr. Grieves"

"Vamos"

"Nimrod's Son"

"Ana"

"Death Horizon"

"Here Comes Your Man"

"Motorway to Roswell"

"Who's More Sorry Now?"

"Haunted House"

"Get Simulated"

"Gouge Away"

"Hey"

"Doggerel"

"Nomatterday"

"Monkey Gone to Heaven"

"Caribou"

"Debaser"

"Head On" (The Jesus and Mary Chain cover)

"Isla de Encanta"

"Wave of Mutilation"

"Planet of Sound"

"Wave of Mutilation" (UK Surf)

"All the Saints"

"Where Is My Mind?"

"Winterlong" (Neil Young cover)