the pixies, like a fine wine; getting better with age

My life is a little more complete. I saw The Pixies live. I can die happier now.

I wanted to go to that show so bad that I went by myself. I had a blast too. This here blog has become a hot bed of sorts for concert reviews. Can't help myself I suppose. I must say that, having never even seen what The Pixies look like, I was quite taken aback by how fat Frank Black is. Anyhow, he's still got it. But you know who really still has it, that Joey Santiago, that's who. He was on point with those tasty riffs of his, so fresh and so clean. His lead guitar was flawless. The entire band sounded so good, as good as perfectly aged cheese tastes. With time a band either looses it or ripens into further greatness and The Pixies did the latter, unlike some bands I know(The Cure).

Which makes me wonder why they had a band like The Thrills opened for them. You know The Thrills, they're just like any of those other bands that start with THE. The Thrills, The Kills, The Stills, The Dills, etc...

The Dills isn't a real band but if it was, it would be better than The Thrills.

They're just like all those other bands out there right now, riding on the coat tails of this movement, where streams of bands made it out of the indie ghetto into the mainstream, because it's really hip to be indie right now. It's so goddamn hip. So in turn, a lot of these talentless bands manage to squeak by, fooling the masses into thinking that they might be good only because they have a THE in front of their name and they look like Urban Outfitters vomited on them. Not like it's a real challenge to fool the masses. How else would one explain the pop music of today? I will admit though, I was fooled. When I saw that they were opening up for the Pixies it sparked an interest in me. But then I saw them perform.

So they had the look that the quintessential "indie" band would have.

OK, here's the starter kit for the generic "indie" band member. Follow this guideline and you will head straight to the 10 spot on TRL:

1. 1 long shaggy hair cut/mullet
2. 1 pair of bell bottom jeans that are too tight
3. 1 suit blazer
4. 1 pair of black pointy toed boots
5. little to no talent

If fulfilling that guideline were a quiz, The Thrills would pass with flying colors. 1 thru 5, check. The lead singer couldn't sing to boot and their songs didn't make sense. The title never went with the song and lyrics had no meaning. I mean, it's cool to have fun with it, but music should have at least an smidge of substance. With songs like, "Whatever happened to Corey Haim", I noted that they took having fun with it to new levels. I can just imagine how they came up with the concept of the song in the first place. They were probably having a slumber party and watching "License to Drive", eating tubs of Ben and Jerry's while one was frosting another's hair. The dialog between them may have gone something like this...

Generic indie band member 1: "SO whatever happened to Corey Haim anyway?"
Generic indie band member 2: "I think he's in rehab."
Generic indie band member 3: "Oh my God! We should do a song about Corey Haim!"
All generic indie band members(in unison): "Yeah!"

Just a few more things about The Thrills and I will be done with flinging poo at them. Watching their set was like watching paint dry. For most of their performance, I zoned out and contemplated the meaning of life. As I drifted in and out of consciousness I caught the lead singer rambling on about the next song they were going to do. He described it as "throwing a little Duran Duran, Belle and Sebastian and some cucumbers in a blender". This statement made me raise an eyebrow, because not only was what he said queer as hell, but it was a cheap attempt at enticing an audience by throwing a couple of buzzwords like "Belle and Sebastian" or "Duran Duran" out there. "Oooh Belle and Sebastian, they're hot right now I hear. Ooh Duran Duran, that's retro. Retro's so hot right now. This next song must be good", the lay person would say. By insinuating that their sound was comparable to Belle and Sebastian and Duran Duran, The Thrills had just tried to be cool by association. That's lame. And on top of that the song sounded nothing like either of those bands.

The band that opened up for The Thrills, was better than The Thrills. I've said it all. The Pixies Rule.