Live music galleries: Pixies [2025]

Artist: Pixies
When: July 12th, 2025
Where: Lebreton Flats Park, Ottawa Bluesfest, Ottawa
Context: I’ve now seen Pixies live three times, each time the circumstances and setlists were quite different and each time they had a different bassist in their ranks. The first time was with the original lineup after reforming, Kim Deal was still on good terms with the group and happy to be playing bass with them again, and the band was touring in support of the anniversary of their classic album “Doolittle”. The second time was only a handful of years later when they were headlining the final night of the sadly now defunct Toronto Urban Roots Festival, this time featuring Paz Lenchantin on bass, and though I don’t remember* all the songs they played, am pretty sure it was a mix of some of their classics with some of their newer tunes. The most recent experience was just a few days ago at Ottawa Bluesfest where they were introduced as the ‘legendary punk band’, Emma Richardson had replaced Lenchantin on bass, and it seemed the quartet were determined to play as many of the songs from the period pre-breakup as they could fit in their hour and fifteen minute time slot. Given the majority of those tunes were less than three minutes in length and that they wasted no time bantering between songs, launching directly into the next tune even before the feedback from the previous had faded, they managed to squeeze practically** everything a long time fan would have wanted to hear. As you might tell from the photos, I managed to get myself pretty close to the front of the stage and was surprised at how many of the young folks that had joined me at the front were actually singing/screaming along to most of the tunes, just as loudly as I was. Amazing performance? Oh yes. Did I enjoy it? Silly question.
Point of reference song: “Wave of mutilation”

*I might have had a few too many Boneshakers.

**Including “Wave of mutilation”, “Here comes your man”, “Debaser”, “Where is my mind”, and their cover of the JAMC’s “Head on”. Missing, of course, was “Gigantic”, co-written and perfectly voiced by their original bassist.