Live Review: The Pixies reunite

Absence makes the affection abound fonder. In the Pixies' case, a dozen years abroad from the date has alone helped their fable -- not just a consistently ablaze archive that converts bags of new admirers every year, but the faculty that the Pixies' amazing aftereffect on added bands (Nirvana apprenticed allegiance, for a start) was about to be adored commercially as able-bodied as aesthetically. Instead, the bandage bankrupt up, and while bassist Kim Deal's Breeders and frontman Frank Black's abandoned career did just fine, neither one anytime eclipsed the Pixies, as music or as legend.

"Legendary" isn't absolutely how Black, Deal, guitarist Joey Santiago, or bagman David Lovering appeared at the alpha of their alliance expedition at Minneapolis' Accomplished Line on Tuesday night. Instead, they appeared as harder workers transported by their craft, frequently befitting their active down as they ripped through a career-spanning set, from 1987's "Caribou" through 1991's "U-Mass," demography a detour for Neil Young's "Winterlong." Frank Atramentous (or Atramentous Francis, as he was accepted in his Pixies days), clad in flannel and jeans, scrunched his eyes shut as he hollered blithely at the acme of "Debaser" (the song that got the loudest applause). Deal, all in black, grinned like mad abaft a face abounding of hair. A accomplished and black-capped Lovering appeared -- and played -- like he'd won the rock-drummer lottery. The active Santiago, looked like the Son of Zorro, glanced about the date like a host afraid about authoritative his guests comfortable, while addled out one absolute advance afterwards another.

The best of area ability accept had something to do with that plan ethic. Minneapolis's Accomplished Line houses 800 maximum, a amount the club kept steadily to admitting a bandage of afraid admirers acquisitive to get in. (There were still seventy-five or so even afterwards the appearance -- which awash out in a appear four account -- had finished.) The space's acquaintance could accept accustomed the Pixies allowance to change if they'd wanted, but there was annihilation awkward about the show. They landed on every mark while still appearing casual, and although the bandage didn't allocution abundant amid songs there was a absolute faculty of generosity in the air: twenty-seven songs accoutrement the absolute catalogue. And the admirers shouted forth with abuse abreast everything, giving as acceptable as they got.

Pixies set list:

Bone Machine
Wave of Mutilation
U-Mass
Levitate Me
Broken Face
Monkey Gone to Heaven
The Holiday Song
Winterlong
Nimrod's Son
La La Love You
Ed Is Dead
Here Comes Your Man
Vamos
Debaser
Dead
No. 13 Baby
Tame
Gigantic
Gouge Away
Caribou