Pixies return to Indy

In some ways Pixies took a ‘less is more’ approach when they brought their show to Indianapolis’ Murat Theatre recently. Third Man Records’ artist Olivia Jean kicked off the night with a short but impressive set. Jean couldn’t be a better fit for Third Man Records, as her sound is reminiscent of a female-fronted version of TMR founder Jack White’s The Raconteurs. After a short break the Pixies appeared on stage with beams of green light shining behind them and out onto the crowd as they kicked off their set with “Gouge Away,” off 1989’s Doolittle. The band played an impressive 29-song set, but with the Pixies unique approach to live shows, fans weren’t dragging themselves out of the venue at 1am. Quite the opposite, actually; fans were actually able to call it a night pretty early on, as the band didn’t waste a single second on small talk or banter with the crowd. Honestly, it was hard to tell if the band even noticed the crowd at all. This was a straight up no-frills rock show. The band was tight, but in many ways the show itself left something to be desired. There was absolutely no interaction with the crowd, and for the most part fans had a difficult time even seeing the band at all. With decent back-lighting and only tiny pinches of front-lighting sprinkled throughout the set, the band members were often only seen as silhouettes against an interesting metallic display that lined the back of the stage. The backdrop helped make the most of the lighting that was used and it created a nice moody atmosphere, but it was somewhat disappointing to never be able to see the band’s facial expressions. That being said, it seemed a large portion of the fans in attendance either knew what to expect or were so caught up in the music that they weren’t bothered by the darkness. The Pixies didn’t put on much of a show, but maybe they did something bigger. In a time when many fans spend the majority of a concert watching the set through their smart phones, the Pixies basically forced fans to get out of their own way and simply enjoy the moment. Fans young and old spent the night singing along to classics such as “Here Comes Your Man,” “Where Is My Mind,” and “Wave of Mutilation” (both the original and the UK Surf version.) If you’re looking for a spectacle, you might want to skip the Pixies show; but if you’re looking to escape to a simpler time, before Instagram and YouTube changed the concert experience forever, then get yourself to a Pixies show, let loose, have a few drinks, and enjoy the experience of rediscovering some of your favorite songs. -Ashley Adcox [lg_slideshow folder=\”2015/Pixies in Indy/Olivia Jean/\”] [lg_slideshow folder=\”2015/Pixies in Indy/Pixies /\”]