Gig review: Pixies at York Barbican

Forty years after they first emerged from the American underground to reshape alternative guitar music, Pixies arrived at York Barbican looking in no mood for nostalgia.

Opening their 40th anniversary tour in Yorkshire, Black Francis and company delivered a blistering, no-frills masterclass that proved why generations of bands — from Nirvana to Radiohead — have borrowed heavily from their loud-quiet-loud blueprint.

Unusually for the Pixies, Black Francis was, by his standards, positively chatty, arriving on stage saying that this was the first time the band had played York and they wouldn’t leave it so long before coming back.

In time-honoured style though, there were no extended introductions, no sentimental reflections on four decades together and certainly no indulgent solos. Instead, the Boston legends simply marched through song after song with ruthless efficiency, allowing one of alternative rock’s deepest catalogues to do all the talking.

And what a catalogue it still is.

Drawing heavily from the classic run of Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde, the set balanced beloved anthems with deeper cuts and newer material, including Motorola from recent album The Night the Zombies Came. The result was a performance that felt less like a heritage act replaying old glories and more like a band still fully engaged with the strange, abrasive magic that made them unique in the first place. Having seen them going through the motions at concerts a few years ago, the transformation is wonderful to see.

They opened with Wave of Mutilation to a roar of approval from the sold-out Barbican crowd. Staples such as Here Comes Your Man (still with, in my opinion, the best instrumental break around), Gouge Away and Monkey Gone to Heaven transformed the packed Barbican into a mass singalong, while Joey Santiago’s eccentric, angular guitar work remained as thrillingly unpredictable as ever. Few guitarists can make such dissonant noise sound so melodic, particularly while playing with his hat and guitar loop on Vamos.

Bassist Emma Richardson, now fully settled into the role once occupied by Kim Deal, again impressed both musically and vocally, particularly on songs like Debaser, where her harmonies with Black Francis added warmth to the band’s jagged sound.

Dave Lovering, meanwhile, continued to provide the engine room throughout, his precise, propulsive drumming driving the band through a set that rarely paused for breath.

What remains remarkable about the Pixies live experience is how little fat there is on it. Songs arrive, explode and disappear in two or three minutes, yet somehow leave a huge impression. There is no wasted movement and no wasted time.

The middle section featured Hey, Velouria and Vegas Suite with a slight false start that Black Francis laughed off with the audience roaring approval at his every recognisable riff and howl. I have never seen him more relaxed. The whole band seemed to be revelling in the performance and the reaction of the fans who ranged from people who had grown up with the band to teenagers.

Even newer and rarer tracks, such as Cactus, Bone Machine, Chicken and Snakes were greeted enthusiastically, sitting naturally alongside the better-known material rather than feeling like obligatory interruptions. That perhaps says much about the current strength of the band, who seem creatively revitalised despite entering their fifth decade.

They closed the set with Wave of Humiliation, Where is my Mind and both In Heaven (a David Lynch and Peter Ivers Cover) and Into the White allowed Emma Richardson to showcase her superb vocals again.

They played 28 songs but contrary as ever, there was no encore. Perhaps the extra chatting meant they used up the allotted time!

As the final notes rang out and the band basked in the standing ovation, with Black Francis bringing each member to the front to take their moment in the spotlight, the feeling inside York Barbican was less one of anniversary celebration and more confirmation that the Pixies remain one of the most influential and compelling live acts of their era.

Forty years in, they still make chaos sound beautifully controlled.