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Doolittle is a gem; over the years it has been increasingly praised by critics (Pitchfork rated at #4 in its top albums of the ‘80s and Spin rated it at #36 in its 2005 list of the 100 greatest albums from ‘85-’05) and cited as inspiration by alternative bands (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, PJ Harvey). The released singles (except “Debaser” which is amazing) are actually some of my least favorite tracks (though I do like them) on Doolittle. My favorite are the more punkish, screamy, loud-quiet-loud songs: “Tame,” “Dead,” “Number 13 Baby,” “Gouge Away” and the mud-draggy swirly ones (also admittedly a bit screamy and loud-quiet-loud) like “I Bleed” and “Hey.”

I saw the Pixies while they were their Doolittle tour, opening for Love and Rockets at the Civic Center in Madison, WI (now called the Overture Center for the Arts) in the fall of ‘89. It was a small venue so even with our relative nosebleed seats, the stage was fairly close, close enough to smell Kim Deal’s cigarettes while she chain-smoked her way through the set.

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Pixies released four singles from the album: “Planet of Sound,” “Alec Eiffel,” “Letter to Memphis” and the excellent cover of The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Head On” (only the last two charted, on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, both at #6). Trompe le Monde includes one of my all-time favorite Pixies songs – “U-Mass,” a blistering raucous punk-caustic rant about higher education (Francis met Joey Santiago at U-Mass Amherst before dropping out to form Pixies. Santiago says the original guitar riff was written while they were still enrolled).

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They opened with the lead track from their 1993 masterpiece Last Splash “New Year” before playing the amazing single from All Nerve “Wait In the Car,” a song which proves that the Deal sisters are still masters of classic one-liners: Kim Deal spitting “Wait in the car. I’ve got business”
mirrors other great lyrical moments like “Saw it on the wall: Motherhood means mental freeze” from “No Aloha” and “I’ll be your whatever you want, The bong in this reggae song” from “Cannonball” – they played both of these last night along with “Divine Hammer” and “Drivin’ on 9″ from Last Splash. “Drivin’ on 9″ was particularly delightful; in whatever town they played last they found a violin player to play that part of the song but couldn’t secure one in Milwaukee so Kelley sang the part, beautifully. Other highlights of the show from All Nerve were “Walking With a Killer” and the loud-quiet-loud Pixies/Breeders tension of “Nervous Mary” – though really it’s more quiet…… LOUD on that song.

It was a joy to watch The Breeders perform: Kim was all smiles during the entire show (I’ve seen her in the past a bit scowly when playing with The Pixies) and she asked the audience a couple of times how we were doing and seemed genuinely concerned we were having a good time. While there were often long pauses between songs for instrument changes, tunings, cheat-screen adjustments (I think the panel by Kim’s feet had a set list and lyric sheet display), this just added to their charm. What really surprised me was the low budget DIY vibe of their setup: I only saw one roadie do pre-show instrument checks and he then also doubled as a third guitar for one song. Their merch guy also joined them on stage at one point to play keyboards. I’ll admit I haven’t been following The Breeders latest tour news carefully but my guess is that they aren’t touring with an opener – for the show last night a Milwaukee band, Dorth Nakota, opened (my verdict on these guys – meh. I was bored, they had little stage presence beyond slurping cans of Pabst, and the lead guy was an ass when he came into the audience near us during The Breeders’
set) – another way to keep tour costs lean and mean and instead focus on playing the music.

Runout groove side A: a cute cat face doodle,
Runout groove Side B: Kim Kelley Josephine Jim

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Even 30 years later, Surfer Rosa sounds and feels fresh and revolutionary. Soooo many amazing tracks: the killer tension of “Bone Machine,” the weird guitar and vocal edges on “Break My Body” and “River Euphrates” and the breakneck punk pace of “Broken Face” and “Vamos.” The musical density offset by the sweetness of Kim Deal’s vocals on “Gigantic” is perfection. “Tony’s Theme” has always been a favorite (especially of friends of mine named Tony). And then there’s the gorgeous “Where Is My Mind?” which regained popularity (notoriety) with its inclusion many TV shows, commercials and movies – most notably 1999′s Fight Club – and is considered the Pixies signature song, with prominent use of “loud-quiet-loud” composition.

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In The Flat Field is a masterpiece of an album. Allmusic says “Few debut albums ever arrived so nearly perfectly formed; that In the Flat Field practically single-handedly invented what remains for many as the stereotype of goth music – wracked, at times spindly vocals about despair and desolation of many kinds, sung over mysterious and moody music…” The title track “In the Flat Field” is one of my all-time favorite songs and this video of its live performance in ‘82 is worth watching over and over again.

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I’ve seen the Pixies play live a couple of times, the first back in the fall of ‘89 in Madison, WI when they opened for Love and Rockets (Kim Deal chainsmoked through the entire show in a very non-smoking venue) and then again in late 2004 in Milwaukee. I was several months pregnant and we had seats in the 10th row, close to Deal, and her deep bass had the kid kicking inside and in time.

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