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Recap: The Pixies rocked Raleigh at Red Hat Amp with Spoon and Fazerdaze.
ICYMI: The Pixies still rock. On Sept. 9, Red Hat Amphitheater was aglow with myriad generations singing along with the ’90s alt-rock group’s wonderfully weird ballads.
Opening the show was New Zealand singer Fazerdaze, after which Austin post-punk act Spoon laid down a concise set, spoon feeding (!) listeners their tangy nuance via hits like “The Underdog” and “Chateau Blues.” Naturally, the crowd ate it up.
At 9pm exactly, the Pixies ventured onstage and launched straight into “In Heaven,” and the crowd, knowing exactly what to expect, sang right along. The alt-rock group formed in the late ’80s, and tends to lean heavily into a loud-quiet-loud song structure paired with lyrics grasping at somewhat surreal topics.
While pulling tunes from throughout their career during the set, the Pixies leaned heavily into Doolittle, the mainstay album that originally caught mainstream eyes and ears. Tracks included the unsettling and relentlessly catchy “Hey,” “Mr. Grieves” (not many other songs could inspire 50-year-old men to shimmy their hips) and forever fave “Monkey Gone to Heaven.”
“Ana” and “Where Is My Mind?” were two gaze-y serenades toward the end of the show during which the crowd—and time—seemed to slow and sway during the dreamy break. Lastly, the group performed “Into the White,” an unexpected B-side track that refreshed Red Hat Amp after the slow tread of the latter two songs.
All in all, the set spanned almost 30 tracks. And while that may seem heavy, the show wasn’t long—they wrapped up before 10:45pm. Barely addressing the crowd apart from a closing thank you, the Pixies had one mission: They put their heads down and offered all the original meddling dynamics that earned their claim to fame four decades ago, without slowing their step once.
The foursome lingered onstage to take a bow, arms linked. Reminiscent of a play’s final curtain call, it served as a subtle reminder that their performance not only takes precision, but that they’re happy to do it. The audience could sense the Pixies were excited to see them too.
Missed the show? No matter—it’s their second time in Raleigh in three years, so have faith they’ll be back to the City of Oaks soon, toting their iconic nostalgia.
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