Pixies' Round House

It's at the Roundhouse which isn't my favourite venue and it's half a ton to get in (plus photo ID) but to see the Pixies play their first one and a half albums it's going to be worth it. Shaun my old gigging mate from back in the early 90s who I met on the commuter train to Gospel Oak as one of us was reading an Arsenal fanzine got the tickets. We meet on Drummond Street with John and sink a few pints whilst chatting about bands, football and current affairs. My sensible plan to eat goes down the drain and I suffice with a packet of plain. Shaun and I say farewell to John and tootle off to Chalk Farm where we sidestep past kiddies with their trick or treat buckets. I guess Halloween is an appropriate time to see the Pixies come out to play. The queue in stretches down to the garage due to photo ID checking and we have a couple of cans to pass the time but soon enough we're inside. There's no support but a sound and light show creating the atmosphere for a great build up and then the lights dim and the Pixies take the stage. Shaun and I squirm our way to the front to get the full effect and cos the sound in this place is crap anywhere else than in the mosh pit area. The band are hot as you'd expect after so many years of practice. Thundering bass, great drums with his at times odd syncopation, guitars crashing around each other and that distinctive voice. We're treated, as you will no doubt know knowing the albums, with the extremes of almost folk like grungieness building up to a crescendo through to out and out pogoing punk mayhem in the mosh pit. They span a lot of styles whilst always grounded in the sound that is recognisable as the Pixies. And tonight they play with an energy and fluency that highlights what great music they've written. They are intense and are less rock than last time I saw them in a damp field in the west country four years ago. Maybe shows that their later songs are more mainstream than their first outburst of creativity. At times buoyant, at times dark, often both as in Nimrod's Son which given it's subject the chorus is sung heartily by all in the place. So the set is a blinder with no lows at all. Unfortunately for me and my usually lazy comparisons of bands to other ones I can't really do that with the Pixies because, well, they sound like the Pixies. After what I guess is the last song of the 2 albums they're playing they exit with a few waves and despite raucous shouting for more - mainly initiated by Shaun - the lights slowly come back up and we realise the pixies are all worn out poor little mites and returned home to their wee little round mushroom houses for a cup of pixie tea most likely made out of their wee little pixie mushroom houses. Handy hey? Most likely on Edgbaston Golf Course, remember that Ramsay? Sorry, a digression. We shuffle outside into the damp Camden air and walk down to the Elephant's Head which has an even weirder looking crowd than usual due to Halloween, to be honest it's difficult knowing if the individuals are dressed up for the occasion or simply goths dressed as usual. We have a drink watching a few singer guitarists play with the happy crowd jigging about to them. A nice end to the night if a little conventional compared to what we've seen. A great night all in all and maybe the Roundhouse ain't so bad after all. Cheers Shaun - I owe you one damn fine gig...