HIP CHECK: The Pixies
Anaheim House of Blues; August 10, 2018
This was a tremendous show. I originally purchased the tickets for my wife’s birthday. She had seen them already, though years ago as the band was earning its bones the first time around. I’d heard about them for years, having missed them initally, and was curious as to what they were about. Come showtime, they managed to hit all my happy buttons: loud, abstract-yet-melodic guitar lines, dark keys, odd time signatures and Black Francis who seemed to rule the stage.
It took more than two hours to get to the show in Anaheim after dropping our daughter off in Simi Valley with friends for a sleep-over. To fill the time while driving, my wife and I listened to the band’s “Doolittle” album for the duration of the drive. Over and over. About thee times total. This was my initiation to the Pixies. Live, they were all that and more. I’d see them again. It was fun!
Here is “polished up” phone video of the band’s opening number, “Gouge Away,” from that same Doolittle album. The sound is awesome!