There was no fanfare, no music as Pixies walked onto the dimly lit Beacon Theater stage. The band, who are in New York for three shows, kicked-off the first of their city stay that ends at Brooklyn's King Theater, on Tuesday night at the iconic Upper West Side venue. As they strutted just past 9p.m., the members of the infamous Massachusetts band didn't seem bothered by the fans applause when they started playing. Backlit by a series of lights and glass the band couldn't be seen, except for their shadows, but felt and heard. It seemed to be the way Pixies wanted it to be, let is rest solely on their music.
In a setlist that included B-sides, very deep album cuts, and fan favorites like "Debaser," "Cactus," "Bone Machine," "Where Is My Mind?," "The Holiday Song," and "Break My Body," there was something for everybody. The band, who have a new look with Paz Lenchantin on bass after the famous departure of Kim Deal last year, seamlessly has worked her way into the band as if she has been there since 1986 with the rest of the lads. Frank Black, who doesn't do much interaction with the fans, just wanted to get the job done and barnstormed through each song with such gusto and vigor you would have thought that his quiet and loud vocal abilities were going to explode at any second. Guitarist Joey Santiago flexed his guitar muscle all night, especially during the encore when he practically took the machine apart and created the most chaotic sounds the Beacon has ever heard. Not to be outdone, drummer Dave Lovering was simply on fire all night as he showed no signs of his age going through the difficult rhythm lines his band has created over time.
While the band utilized every nook and cranny of acoustics inside the theater, it was sometimes sloppy and sometimes brilliant as they plugged through their vast catalog. Since reformed in 2004, the band have not hid that these reunion shows are for the money and giving the fans what they want. However, after over a decade back together, they now seem to be interested in what they have not offered and plugging into that and while they released their first album in over 20 years last year, Indie Cindy, it is optimistic to think more material is on the way and with the way Lenchantin has worked in the band, she could push them to places they themselves haven't gone before.