Lead vocalist Black Francis performs Waves of Mutilation at The Fillmore Detroit. Brian Quintos / The Pit: SE
After a 20-year recording hiatus, alternative-rock trio Pixies (accompanied by tour-bassist Paz Lenchantin), put together world tours following their release of EP1 (2013) and EP2 (2014). Pixies’ third stop of February brought them to The Fillmore Detroit, a day after the sold out Columbus show. Pixies kept it classic in the beginning, opening with their hits “Bone Machine,” “Wave of Mutilation,” and “River Euphrates” from their 80s albums Surfer Rosa and Doolittle.
New York indie-pop band Cults opened for the Pixies with beautiful vocals by Madeline Follin and percussion by Brian Oblivion, as they performed older material, as well as songs from their 2013 album “Static.”
Lead vocalist Madeline Follin of Cults opens for the Pixies at The Fillmore Detroit. Brian Quintos / The Pit: SE
Pixies opened the show with “Bone Machine.” As an 80s band, they brought the refreshed, grungy sound of that decade to The Fillmore, with heavy riffs by lead-guitarist Joey Santiago, booming drum breaks by drummer David Lovering and silently intense vocals by lead singer Black Francis.
During their 27-song, 90-minute set, Pixies took fans back in time, from 1988’s Surfer Rosa to 2014’s EP2. While many of the new songs were scattered throughout the set, the Pixies made a brilliant transition towards the end with their 1988 hit “Where Is My Mind?” followed by 2013 track “Andro Queen,” which featured thick composition, dissonant vocals and an overall pleasant accompaniment to the previous song.
Some might ask, “What is the band going to do without bassist Kim Deal?” Lovering answered this question in a recent interview with The Pit. “We bonded a little more, and Joe and I decided to pick up more vocals, because we were lacking Kim. Since we were lacking her vocals, we did double duty on that, just to fulfill the Pixie theme.”
“I think with our new bassist, the rhythm section is kick-ass,” Lovering said. “But Paz is so good, she’s making me play better. Because of that, the rhythm section is very powerful, and we’re sounding better than ever. The vocals are good as well. I think we’re sounding the best that we’ve sounded.”
