To mark the 40th Anniversary the Pixies return to London for a blistering masterclass of a no- nonsense, art-rock surge-grunge spectacular. The most influential American rock band in the past decades are performing an electrifying show at London’s Royal Albert Hall and this is their second of two major shows at the Royal Albert Hall for the leg of the “P40 – 40th Anniversary.” It was not surprising to see people already Queueing up to get their hands on tickets shortly after release with Black Francis’s howling vocals and Joey Santiago’s distorted guitar riffs making the as sharp as ever for a memorial evening The Pixies themselves were credited back in the 1980’s David Bowie influence and inspired none other than Nirvana. David Bowie was a huge fan from the very beginning of their incarnation!
The Pixies themselves formed in Boston Massachusetts in 1986 and consisted of band members, who are all present here in force, Black Francis, Joey Santiago, David Lovering and recently joined member Emma Richardson, who replaced Kim Deal in 2024. The Pixies are associated with the 1990s alternative rock boom and draw on elements of punk rock and surf rock and their music is known for its dynamic “loud-quite-loud” shifts in tone and song structure!
Tonight’s support slot stem from the Black Country’s very own ‘Gans’. They have succeeded in turning heads in the crowd tonight and inspiring fans nationwide with their punk rock sounds. They are signed to Pete Doherty’s label Strap originals and released their debut album, “good for the soul” last year. As soon as the two band members stride onto the stage with a saxophonist in their clad trouser and sweaty t-shirts their tear through their set list like a motorway and deliver a high octane experience with Euan Woodman egging on the crowd to form a circle in the middle of the hall in front of the stage.
The Pixies come on stage with a momentous, ever evolving 30 song back to back set, showcasing nearly everything the band have written in the past in the second of the two sold out Royal Albert Hall shows. The Pixies have continued to create new albums with the latest offering being ‘Doggerel’. The early portion of the set moves fast, with a blink of an eye and four songs have gone. Including an absolutely blistering rendition of ‘Crackity Jones’, a song I didn’t expect to feature. That is the Pixies way: no extended jams, no between-song monologues, just relentless machinery. From the opening 2Motorolor, the standout is “Here comes your Man”, from 1989’s Doolitle, Francis’ voice in remarkably fine form, the band impossibly tight for a group who appear to be enjoying themselves and on this leg of the tour, that enjoyment is increasingly visible. There are smiles. There is looseness. There is the pleasing sense of a band who have earned the right to take pleasure in diving into their back catalogue to see what they will find in dusty corners. Francis introduces King of the Prairie as one of what he calls their ‘grandchildren songs’, painting a picture of band road trips on Californian highways, eagle buses, a wave from the window. It’s a warm, generous moment of storytelling that softens
the typically austere Francis persona. Jane (The Night the Zombies Came) follows, the band leaning into the nocturnal darkness of their most recent material.
There are also the bizarre lyrics of ‘Monkey has Gone to Heaven’ which trippers a full singalong and Santiago’s retro sounding guitar solos that make up the night of memorable rock anthems. The stand out is “Isla De Encanta”, which takes Pixies right back to their beginning. Black Frances guitar never misses a string and the band barely say a word, but they would not need to as the band’s songs speak for themselves.
