Pioneering a sound that’s influenced every indie band from Nirvana to Weezer, Pixies are the godfathers of wall-of-sound guitar, up-down-up-down genre-blending punk riffs, jeremiads-as-lyrics and bass hooks that could land a Great White. Despite an eleven year hiatus from 1993 until 2004, this band has never ever really lost its stride or popularity. Eight albums deep (including Gold-certified Surfer Rosa and Platinum Doolittle), their 2019 album Beneath The Eyrie was met with much critical acclaim, while 2022 saw the release of their newest album Doggerel along with its danceable single, “Human Crime”. Their latest tour features all-but-one of the original members: Black Francis at the helm, lead guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering backing, and a continuation of Kim Deal-on-bass replacement and impresario in her own right, Paz Lenchantin (whom unfortunately does not give us her—what we're sure is a—stunning rendition of “Gigantic”, but whom does bring her own coffee mug on stage, so…it’s square??). Together since 2014, this iteration of the band seems as seamless as ever.

Last night’s Oakland Fox Theater show saw Pixies venture over 90 minutes of whatever the hell rock ‘n’ roll they felt like (no two setlists are the same): opening with fan-favorite two-chord pulsar, “Gouge Away”, and included classics like “Hey!”, “Caribou” and “Velouria”; punk wrecking-balls like “Bone Machine”, “Debaser”, “Mr. Grieves” and “Planet Of Sound”; standout singles like “Where Is My Mind?” (of Fight Club fame) and “Here Comes Your Man” (most famously in (500) Days Of Summer); a surf-jangle cover of The Jesus & Mary Chain's “Head On” and a mournfully acoustic, quarter-time reprise of “Wave Of Mutilation”, which distilled all those minor chords into something unforgettably and deliciously Gothic. Other newer singles like “Thunder And Lightning” from Doggerel and “Death Horizon” from Beneath The Eyrie were well received, as Black Francis took the crowd on a tour-de-force of post-Covid high-octane Gen-X euphony. Their first touring foray since 2019's triumphant Pasadena Daydream Festival, these rocker statesmen seemed effortless and well-practiced. The Oakland crowd never waned and knew practically every lyric, proving that no matter how many years go by, no matter how long they disband for, or no matter if not every song belongs in the pantheon of our playlists, Pixies fans have nothing but a gigantic big big love.