THE TIMELESS MAGIC OF PIXIES: GLASGOW CROWDS LEFT CAPTIVATED

LIVE REVIEW | PIXIES – GLASGOW O2 ACADEMY 20/08/24 by Amanda McEachen

American alt-rock band Pixies made a stunning appearance at Glasgow’s O2 Academy on August 20th as part of the European leg of their tour. Upon entering the sold-out show, the O2 venue was packed from front to back with fans both old and new. With the band having formed in 1986, it was no surprise to see a large number of long-standing fans within the crowd.

The background music went silent, and as the stage lights came up, the crowd’s cheers echoed throughout the high-ceilinged room. Pixies launched straight into classics like ‘Gouge Away‘ and ‘Wave of Mutilation‘, immediately energising the audience as rows of people sang along in unison. The energy was further created by the immensely vibrant lighting, with strong greens and white strobes, all while picking up pace during the more upbeat songs.

The setlist featured a few newly released songs and mainly the old favourites, but the crowd were happy to sing along to every song they could. Pixies are definitely no stranger to high energy crowds with their rock aura, and Glasgow thankfully lived up to this. Halfway through the set the band play ‘Monkey Gone To Heaven‘ and the Glasgow crowd show their anticipation and joy by jumping, dancing and screaming the lyrics back.

In light of their new album, ‘The Night the Zombies Came‘, set to be released in October, the band performed the track ‘Chicken‘. This hauntingly atmospheric and grungy song created a sense of despair, leaving the crowd both quiet and in awe. They also performed a live debut of unreleased song ‘Motoroller‘ from the new album, the crowd were quiet but appeared to be excited to be hearing unreleased new music.

As Pixies moved through their set, it was clear they were trying to give fans as many songs as possible within one gig. The setlist consisted of 28 songs and 3 covers. In the latter parts of the gig, classics such as ‘Here Comes Your Man‘ and of course the famous ‘Where Is My Mind?‘ got fans perked right back up again after the long set and the room filled with liveliness. With the crowd thinking the gig was complete, Pixies start back up again with a cover of Neil Youngs ‘Winterlong‘, leaving fans surprised and cheerful as the gig came to a close.

Pixies performance at the O2 Academy Glasgow was masterful, nostalgic and all about the music. No speeches, no encores, just song after song. Showcasing their new music showed their evolution as a band and left fans eager for the new album. Front man Black Francis’s distinctive vocals grounded the performance throughout while the chemistry between all band members carried the set. The evening showed a clear example of Pixies music being able to captivate audiences of all generations.

SETLIST

1. Gouge Away

2. Wave of Mutilation

3. Head on (cover)

4. Isla de Encanta

5. All over the World

6. Caribou

7. Hey

8. Subbacultcha

9. Cactus

10. The Sad Punk

11. The Navajo Know

12. Ana

13. Chicken

14. Motoroller

15. The Vegas Suite

16. Velouria

17. The Happening

18. Monkey Gone to Heaven

19. Motorway to Roswell

20. Is she weird

21. Mr Grieves

22. Debaser

23. Here Comes Your Man

24. Death Horizon

25. In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song) (cover)

26. Wave of Mutilation

27. Where Is My Mind?

28. Winterlong (cover)

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