Mischievous Little Elves

"Joey Santiago DSC_1421.jpg" courtesy of Seattlest Flickr pool member laviddichterman

"Don’t know about you but I am un chien Andalusia."

And thus began the first of two Seattle shows the Pixies will play to promote the 20th anniversary of their Doolittle album. Before the band took the Paramount stage, the audience was subjected to images of sliced up eyeballs as Salvador Dali and Luis Bunuel’s Un Chien Andalou, the inspiration for "Debaser," was projected onto the stage screen. "Debaser" was their most critically acclaimed song, but they opted to open with some less familiar material. Once all the band members arrived on stage, Kim Deal introduced the group by declaring "B-sides" into the microphone and we were off.

Though Doolittle was released two decades ago and the Pixies haven’t recorded an album since 1991, their sound is just as relevant and could easily pass for something recorded much more recently. Francis’s shrieks haven’t faded and Deal’s soft voice has withstood the test of time. She could’ve easily covered "Cannonball" with no discernible difference from her Breeders days. Much of their lasting popularity is also likely due to the fact that they didn’t suffer from the over exposure that many bands of that era experienced. They broke up before alternative rock exploded and thus never really capitalized on the mainstream success that many bands of that era experienced. But their influence widely permeated grunge music, as Kurt Cobain and many others cited the Pixies as a major musical influence.

As the show progressed, the laughing and joking on stage seemed to signal that the band members have reconciled their differences. There was even footage on the video screen of them taking bows, doing the wave, and just goofing off. Given that they plan on recording an album next year indicates that, even if they haven’t completely made up, they at least get along well enough to work together. The fact that fans were still starving for more after two encores is further evidence that Pixies will see continued success well into the next decade.