The Pixies are coming! The Pixies are coming!
I just tweeted about The Pixies coming to Centre in the Square but I wanted to expand on my thoughts about that. I won’t try to pretend that I was I super cool and into the underground music back when I was in elementary school. I mean, I was jealous of my siblings going to see the Zoo TV tour at Maple Leaf Gardens, but I doubt I even know who the opening act was at the time. Years later, when I finally got into The Pixies via yes, the greatest hits album, (although I had been a Kim Deal fan prior) and realized just who the opening act was, I was disappointed to realize that I didn’t get a chance to see them when my siblings did, and it certainly didn’t look like it would ever be possible.
Jump ahead to November 2004 and somehow I was there at a Pixies show, the second night they played in Toronto. As they put it, they realized they had a chip in their pocket labelled “Pixies reunion” and finally decided to cash it in. Awesome, I had finally seen them!
Jump again to August 2009. They moved the Virgin Festival to the Molson Amphitheatre, which meant that somehow I was seeing them for a second time. And based on reviews the next day, that’s why most of the people were there too, given the near empty house I’m told Ben Harper played to after The Pixies. Awesome two days of shows, including Franz Ferdinand and Pet Shop Boys.
Now it’s 2011 and I’m planning to see them, in Kitchener (!!!), for the third time. This blows my mind. What was it like in a time before you could count on nearly any band that broke up to get back together excvept in the case of death (which doesn’t seem to stop The Who). There’s no “selling out”, people are grateful to have a chance to see and support the artists they love. Down below I discussed wishing to see The Northern Pikes and The Grapes of Wrath and that came true. Death From Above 1979 are playing Coachella.
My only regret is that I missed 3/4ths of Plumtree at the Scott Pilgrim 6 launch, and that while they were all there for the premiere, they didn’t play a show. Maybe one day…
