remembering live music no.2

Pixies, Rock City Nottingham, April 25 1989

Picture young Steve, aged 15, attending only his second ever gig, going to see what was at that time his favourite band. Live music after this point was basically ruined for me.

My (older) brother had seen them play the previous year and we'd got tapes of Come on Pilgrim and Surfer Rosa. Obsessed.

Excitement was only increased by their second Peel session (which I taped, obviously) and this awesome appearance on SNUB TV (which we kept on video until the tape wore out) - I remember telling people at school to watch it.



How can people who look so ordinary - square, even - make a sound so wild? Look at their little faces, they look almost embarrassed to be on TV. Kim had only just stopped going by the nom de disque Mrs John Murphy. Couldn't Black Francis get a clean top?

In advance of the release of Doolittle, John Peel was playing a different song every night on his Radio 1 show. I'd even managed to get hold of a one-sided promo record with four songs on it. I was primed and ready to go.

Which is why it's so disappointing that I can remember so little about the gig!

• They started with "Into The White" which hadn't been released at that point. It had a very literal (and blinding) light show.
• Early in the set they played the (similarly unreleased) UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation" - I was convinced they were playing it so slowly because they were f*cked off - too many cries of "You fat bastard" from the more *excitable* and *refreshed* members of the audience?
• "No. 13 Baby" was the only song from Doolittle I'd not heard before I got the album the week before this gig. It's still my favourite track on the album. The light show was awesome for the long instrumental coda.
• And regardless of what Setlist.fm says, I have a vivid memory of them playing "Vamos". Joey Santiago playing much of the solo with a beer can as a slide - and I've just remembered he had a teeny tiny guitar amp!

Kim was pretty much the only Pixie to speak to the audience ("Thanks!" and not much else).
Regardless, I do know that they were bloody brilliant. So loud, so incredibly tight and just completely on it.

A few short years later they were hanging out with Bowie and U2, barely speaking to each other and having band promo pictures taken in their sunglasses.