The Pixies, Paradiso, 6 October 2013

This monkey didn’t quite go to heaven. But I am sure even God could have heard them, they were that bloody loud.

When I heard that Kim Deal was no longer touring with The Pixies it did take the wind out of my sails somewhat, not enough to not check out the band mind you, but I guess it helped set the bar slightly lower for my expectations for their upcoming show. Who would have thought a bass play would have such a profound effect on what a show might be like. And ok, in the Pixies Kim was not just a bass player it was her voice (and Franks mind you) that blew me away last time I had seen them live.

This time was a Sunday night at Paradiso, and yes, you had me at Paradiso.

Having seen the Pixies play before, both JP and I decided to lower our expectations and I guess, this would be for a couple of reasons. Firstly the band had given us both amazing performances and we both believed this could never be replicated. Secondly as mentioned earlier the band had lost Kim, one of its founding members and someone who, to me was instrumental to the overall sound of the band.

The flip side of this was that both JP and I wanted to see the band play as soon as the ticket sales were announce, furthermore they would be playing Paradiso....possibly the greatest concert venue in the world. Also they chose to play two sell out shows there when they could have easily played one show at a much larger venue in the Netherlands.

So with these very positive thoughts in mind we strolled up to Paradiso with minimal expectations however a level of hope that the set would be very solid.

I think that with this band also came a level of interest and expectation from the average punter in the gig. And when the band did kick off, the gig it felt like the band deserved to be there and to be honest they sure as shit, fit right in. It was by the 4th or 5th track and the crowd had formed a noticeable mosh pit, not a grunge stage diving mosh pit, rather a puck style pushing and bashing mosh pit.

And it was then that I got a glimpse of Paradiso at its raw best, that is when the punter is engrossed in the band and the total music package. The vibe was very much of what I like to think of as "drunken punk" and I think I witnessed more cups of beer being thrown than any other show....ok not quite as many beers that I witness being thrown at Liam Gallagher of Oasis but still, he is a bloody prat.

And what was very easily identifiable was that this was a loud gig. Did I say loud? I meant to say ridiculously loud show. And what this show had in it 26 song set was that it was gritty and real. Ok it wasn't quite the show that I had seen previously but maybe it was closer to what they would have been like "back in the day" and they did play most of the songs that I had wanted to hear but if I was going to make a slight criticism, and I will, it is that the song selection are not anymore aimed to incorporate Kim (and rightly so) but it ultimately ends in not playing all of the real hits and this could/ would or may leave some fans disappointed. Not me however this was just icing on the cake for me so as long as it wasn't a complete train wreck I was always going to be pretty damn happy!

These guys still bring it, and so did the crowd. Let’s hope they all just keep on rolling on.

JV