This is not just a review of the Pixies performance but a review of the entire night, the support band, the crowd and of the venue.
We arrived at around 7:45, which was a good time get there if one wanted to avoid crowds. My companion and I were upstairs in the seated area, we'd have much preferred to be in the standing room closer to the stage but when the tickets went on sale at 9am - 5 months prior, it was a struggle to get a place in the online queue let alone get tickets that I actually wanted to get. I think there were pre-sales that took care of most of the standing area admission, which I find a little unfair.
Taken with the feeling of the venue and the occasion, and unspoilt by massive crowds yet, we ignored our student finances and walked up to the nearest bar. My friend wanted a Scotch & Dry. No Ginger Ale. So from the limited options we settled on Bicardi and Coke. A single shot was poured into an extra large plastic cup that wall filled with ice followed by the cola drink. The 2 drinks cost $18. This to my mind is nothing but a cynical and greedy cash-in on all patrons who can't really leave the venue to find a more reasonable price. I paid the for drinks, so my friend offered to pay for another round. I went back and this time asked for no ice and was told that it was a directive to add ice. What the hell? Moving on.
The opening band started at 8pm. Auckland 4-piece Collapsing Cities took the stage at a slightly uncomfortable volume. I did not recognise any of their music until the last 2 songs that they played, which I have heard on bfm playlists. I faintly suspected that their music was quite appealing except the imminent feeling of an ear bleed took away from that enjoyment somewhat. Their sound took queues from Flying Nun bands of the 80s such as The Clean and also bands such as Joy Division, but with more modern rhythmic dance vibes.
After a 50 minute set there was a short break before the Pixies took the stage. The arena had slowly filled up and people were taking their seats around us.
At around 9, to rapturous applause the Pixies took the stage and they busted out into-- a song and I have no idea what it was. It turns out that it was Dancing the Manta Ray, a B-side. 2 more b-sides were played before they swung into the album Dolittle. They played nearly a perfect rendition of the entire album, they sounded incredibly tight musically and the shrill noise through the sound system while the previous band played had disappeared for a warmer mix.
However, in the seated area so far from the stage, and possibly stone cold sober despite being collectively almost $40 poorer we felt a little detached from the concert. There are are number of factors that possibly contributed to this. The stage and set up was very minimalistic as was the lighting. While The Pixies are a cult band from another era, their approach did not work in a large arena such as Vector. Not for us anyway. The Powerstation gig that they had played one night previous might have worked with a similar set-up as it is a much more intimate venue and more befitting of the band, however that along with their song-for-song and almost chord-for-chord rendition of the album made it feel like I had come to watch a stereo play CDs. - Sorry, a DVD, as there was video projected onto what looked like a large bed sheet behind the band. I suspect that many reviews and much of the public will be uncritical because of the Pixies status, they can do little wrong. And the concert was good, but there was a lack of energy that they may have had in the past. The encore seemed to last an eternity and we were treated to 2 repeats at a slower tempo. Another encore followed and that also seemed to last a little too long and then the lights went up which started a boo reaction from the crowd. This was brief as the Pixies came back on and played their best performance for the night, and under full light. A lot more energy and songs from previous albums. After their high energy performance, the crowd was satisfied and people started leaving. We looked to the stage and people were clearing it. This was our cue to leave too, to the brisk night air, realising that summer was coming to an end.
This was a concert that we needed to attend, we were lucky to see the Pixies live, they broke up years ago. The Pixies had musical ideas that spawned an entire new genre - although it is a different sound, grunge, and bands such as Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins owe their soft/loud flow in their music to the Pixies who pioneered it.
It was a good concert marred slightly by the venue, it's service and to be honest, our complete sobriety through out.
Special mention to the evening's entertainment provided by the guys across from us unaware of their own dorky-looking air-guitaring throughout the show. They were obviously enjoying their night and more power to them. Nevertheless they sill looked dorky.
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