So it's now the next day and I have seen the Pixies once again. The show turned out to be better than I expected (in theory; more on that later). Rather than start with Doolittle right away, they opened with a few b-sides that were featured on the "Here Comes Your Man" and "Monkey Gone To Heaven" singles. While I was ecstatic over hearing fantastic obscurities like "Manta Ray" and "Weird At My School", only the people I was with and a handful of my fellow audience members seemed enthused. Of course when they launched into "Debaser", everyone was amped, and why would anyone not be? Every song on Doolittle is excellent and the band still can perform every track on it with plenty of chops and enthusiasm. As I complained about in my previous post, I'm not a big fan of the 'album-in sequence' concert, but the performance was great regardless of predictability. The encore was ample, featuring a few more rarities like "Into The White", which they dressed up the way they used to back in their heyday, filling the stage with smoke and a blinding white light - probably the peak of the show. A second encore was performed that included favorites like "Bone Machine" and the not often played "Dig For Fire" (arguably my favorite Pixies song). Too bad it was ruined by the meathead assholes three rows behind me that at this point, were so drunk that they began slamdancing and purposely falling on to people in the audience.
As I left the show I realized that a lot had changed since I saw the Pixies at Hammerstein Ballroom 5 years ago. Although the Pixies had become more popular than they ever had before when they reunited in 2004, they were still an in-the-know band. Most people had heard of them at this point, but not everyone had taken the time to listen yet. Their notoriety has only grown since then and unfortunately this has lead to some, shall I say "less desirable" concert goers to get into them. Before I go on, let me make this clear that I am NOT the type of person who goes to a show and just stands there. I love to dance, sing along, jump around, etc. The difference is, I respect other people's personal space. These guys were purposely (not incidentally) disrespectful to everyone in the audience. As the show began, two fratboy fuckheads pushed their way in front of two girls that arrived probably the same time I did (an hour before the doors even opened). When she protested their rudeness, they joyfully mocked her. One then proceeded to put his arm around one of the girls, slurring something to the effect of "hey, you're pretty...". I tried my best to locate a bouncer to toss these apes out but they were nowhere to be found. 5 years ago, there was none of this. We sang, we danced, we jumped up and down. We had fun, and at no one's expense. I usually think of myself as someone who likes music because it's good, never letting the popularity of a band affect my enjoyment. Last night though made me think twice, that maybe great music is more enjoyable when less people know about it.
As I left the show I realized that a lot had changed since I saw the Pixies at Hammerstein Ballroom 5 years ago. Although the Pixies had become more popular than they ever had before when they reunited in 2004, they were still an in-the-know band. Most people had heard of them at this point, but not everyone had taken the time to listen yet. Their notoriety has only grown since then and unfortunately this has lead to some, shall I say "less desirable" concert goers to get into them. Before I go on, let me make this clear that I am NOT the type of person who goes to a show and just stands there. I love to dance, sing along, jump around, etc. The difference is, I respect other people's personal space. These guys were purposely (not incidentally) disrespectful to everyone in the audience. As the show began, two fratboy fuckheads pushed their way in front of two girls that arrived probably the same time I did (an hour before the doors even opened). When she protested their rudeness, they joyfully mocked her. One then proceeded to put his arm around one of the girls, slurring something to the effect of "hey, you're pretty...". I tried my best to locate a bouncer to toss these apes out but they were nowhere to be found. 5 years ago, there was none of this. We sang, we danced, we jumped up and down. We had fun, and at no one's expense. I usually think of myself as someone who likes music because it's good, never letting the popularity of a band affect my enjoyment. Last night though made me think twice, that maybe great music is more enjoyable when less people know about it.
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