Pixies/The Big Moon – Glasgow, 02 Academy – 22 September 2019

By Jessica Robinson

Outside the queue quickly began to grow and was filled with a diverse age range of people which was certainly an amazing thing to see especially for a band like the Pixies. Once we were able to get inside many people scrambled around to discover where they were to be spending their time at the venue. Whilst many people flooded to standing the view which I had attained was a good view on the balcony surrounded by many others. At first the venue wasn’t too warm but as the night progressed things got quite heated.

First of all to arrive on stage was The Big Moon, who are a female alternative band that certainly impressed any people within the venue with the instrument swapping, catchy melodies and entertaining stage presence. Their tones were incredibly strong and there appeared to be no faults at all during their set. The first song had the crowd screaming with applause when it ended, and it seemed as though even though they may not be as well known, the crowd certainly took quickly to what the band did whilst also showing a lot of interest. There was a lot of interaction between all the members with the singer/guitarist and bassist moving together a lot as well as singer/guitarist and guitarist with one another and occasionally coming together at times to form around the drummer which was very enjoyable to watch. It was amazing to witness the bassist swap to keys and the singer swap to bass guitar for songs, they had amazing dynamic break downs with the band having an old sound with a modern alternative twist. Overall definitely a band that is worth checking out if you like alternative music, were certainly a good opening act choice.

The air started to become incredibly warm after the last act finished and by the sight of the Pixies’ lighting rig it was evident things were going to ger warmer. Without even playing a note, the moment that the band came onto the stage the audience clapped and cheered as if they had played their last song. Atmospherically everything had changed, it felt nostalgic in a way and the room felt more united which was an amazing experience to be a part of. ‘Nimrod’s Son’ was the second song of the night and it hit off so well with the audience especially after ‘Ed is Dead’ which both went down very well and got the audience dancing along. Although the moment the riff for ‘Here Comes Your Man’ started playing the room screamed as they sung along to the iconic Pixies guitar riff. There was a buzz within the room which was indescribable the moment they led into ‘Where is my Mind?’ and everyone once again sung along to the vocal introduction. This was a special experience to be a part of that moment where essentially everyone in the venue was singing along and living in the moment completely. Over the course of the night they played a variety of new and old songs which all seemed to have quite a good engagement, where they all flowed well with one another to a point where nothing seemed out of place.

Consistently there was a decent size pit of people on the floor jumping and thrashing about which was an amazing sight especially for songs like ‘Gouge Away’. All the instruments sounded phenomenal and the lighting really complimented that act as they swapped from a range of colours throughout the entire night as well as during parts in songs which added a cool element to their performance. During the set, guitarist Joey Santiago came to the front of the stage to play a solo and after the end of it he turned his guitar upside down to face the audience waving it around to create an insane feedback of noise which was impressive. The lights went black and there was a very long silence which was held until through the anticipation all that could be heard was a loud “HEY!” which caused the room to burst into the loudest scream and the sing along to the bass riff as it began. Many people stood to dance and passionately sung along to the hit. ‘Daniel Boon’ was played and it broke up the set list quite nicely as the songs performed before it was all quite high energy and had people moving a lot, so this allowed for the audience to take a backseat and enjoy a calmer song.

The setlist in total was 38 songs long according to setlist.fm user uploads and every single song certainly made an impact on everyone, even if it wasn’t so well known, such as the newer songs. After exiting the stage with bows which were greeted with a standing ovation, the band came back onstage after a short calling for an encore, ‘Debaser’ which had everyone remaining on their feet dancing and singing along.

The night was filled with so much passionate emotion between the bands and the audience members, there was certainly a different connection between the commitment of the fans to the band to what I have experienced before at shows. Overall couldn’t have been a better night and the support act The Big Moon was certainly a brilliant choice for an opening act. If you missed them this time be sure to jump in sooner to get tickets and make sure you don’t miss out on a great night seeing the Pixies.

Pixies conclude the tour with sold out shows at the Ulster Hall in Belfast tonight (Wednesday 25 September) and the Olympia Theatre in Dublin tomorrow (Thursday 26 September).
‘Beneath The Eyrie’ is out now. You can get your copy HERE.