Pixies at the Vector Arena, Auckland: guest review

Photo: Joshua Duncan

Pixies came to Auckland last night. Steve and Simon couldn’t make it to the show, but guest reviewer Teylor Moss filed this review for Crave!:

Like moths to a flame, I watched as the growing crowd swarmed into the Arena. Flaunting their merchandise across their chests and jumping, as if the Pixies were performing already.

The opening act for the night: Cut Off Your Hands. Formed in our very own backyard, Auckland New Zealand. A messy grunge band that spilled their attitude across the stage, easy to move your head to and entertaining to watch. A perfect choice to open for the Pixies. Unfortunately the sound wasn’t perfect, as I struggled to hear the singer who was muffled and quiet throughout the set and the guitar became the main attraction. Regardless, they kept going and put on amazing show, hyping the crowd for the Pixies.

Intermission: Feeling a bit like a jazz bar intermission, soft music quietly played for half an hour. This threw me off, as I expected the usual intermission songs that were popular in that genre. It was a nice change and couldn’t suit anyone better than the Pixies. As the crowd got acquainted, I searched the room and saw people getting a bit restless. Then the arena lights dimmed down and the stage lights slowly rose towards us, the crowd were losing their minds and their voices by this point.

Pixies. Welcomed by cheers and a few tears, the Pixies walked on stage and greeted us with Where Is My Mind. A nationwide Pixie anthem, a great choice to open with. The entire crowd were singing every word and jumping to every beat. The sound was perfect, I could hear everything crystal clear.
Formed in Boston U.S.A 1986. The Pixies consists of:
Black Francis- Vocals/ Rhythm guitar
Joey Santiago- Lead guitar/ Keyboard
David Lovering- Drums/ Percussion
Paz Lenchantin- Bass guitar/ Vocals/ Violin
Here Comes Your Man was performed next, the crowd went even more insane. A wide range of young and old attended the event, proving the Pixies are timeless. An amazing light show can really make a difference to the show, perfectly on time with the music, the lights would change quickly. Emphasizing the bass drops and the melodies, making the performance even more special. During Mr. Grieves, Black stopped mid-drop to tune his guitar, creating suspense, while also making sure their standards didn’t fall. After what seemed like forever, they continued from where they stopped and finished the song spectacularly.
Joey was creating a psychedelic vibe while making his guitar moan and as the crowd watched in awe, David threw a drum stick to Joey, which he used to continue his masterpiece. Joey threw the stick back to David, which he caught! And never missed a beat. Myself along with the audience were gobsmacked, truly amazing stage performance. I never took my eyes off them (except being behind tall people). Every person in the crowd was so friendly, by moving so you could see, or discussing how amazing the Pixies were and singing with each other. It helps make a concert great when there is no negativity in the audience that spoils it for the surrounding people, good vibes from everyone there! I couldn’t get over how amazing the sound was, I never struggled to hear a sound.
Throughout the concert they played a perfect mix between their old and new songs, playing classics such as: Where Is My Mind, Here Comes Your Man, Mr. Grieves, This Monkeys Gone To Heaven, Hey, Crackity Jones, Debasser and so many more.

An amazing concert that couldn’t have been performed any better, the applause lasted for 10 minutes. Sad to leave, the show has ended. With smiles on every ones faces, we shuffled to the exits and left.

Thank you to the staff who made this event run as smoothly as it did and an enormous thank you to the Pixies for putting on the most spectacular show.
Teylor Moss

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