The indie veterans are currently co-headlining a second tour together.
The indie gods smiled down upon Chicago on June 19th when Pixies, Modest Mouse, and Cat Power returned for round 2 of a world tour. Anyone who had missed their first tour in August 2023 (including myself) got a second chance to see Black Francis & company and the alternative giants of the 2000’s respectively.
Cat Power would perform a 30-minute set just as the sun was beginning to set on the Windy City. (Writer’s note: Cat Power did not allow any professional photos, so for the first time in a long time, I was able to just enjoy an artist’s set.) Power (whose real name is Charlyn “Chan” Marshall) would exude charisma and an admirable eccentricity, in addition to a very powerful voice, even if her original songs seemed underwhelming. Despite an unenthusiastic crowd, Cat Power sang a memorable set, even if her stage presence was more memorable than her actual performance.
Modest Mouse would be next and give a stunning performance. As a band with more than 30 years under their belt, Modest Mouse has had a non-stop successful career as indie rock artists, and even as a passive, moderate fan who only knew the hits, I would quickly become a much more appreciative listener of the band after witnessing and capturing them live. Vocalist Isaac Brock’s convulsive movements, strong vocals, and unstoppable charisma were of course the highlight of the show, but these aspects would not have been at all noticeable without the incredible sound of the rest of the band (kudos to Chicago’s Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island for always making sure this is possible). The band would close out with the classics–”Float On,” arguably their biggest hit from 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News and of course featuring a beautiful moment of crowd participation live, and “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” and “What People Are Made Of” from 2000’s The Moon & Antarctica.
After a slightly longer wait, the audience was finally treated to the sound of Pixies for the second time in a year. This time, while the band would keep some staples in their setlist, they would play a different setlist in every city, so no performance was ever the same throughout the tour. After their last run with Modest Mouse in summer 2023, longtime bassist Paz Lenchantin (who replaced original member Kim Deal in 2014) announced her departure to focus on her own projects. Emma Richardson has taken her place and proven to be a solid and hopefully permanent new member of the Pixies. While Deal’s harmonies with Black Francis and chemistry as part of the Pixies are hard to compare or replicate, Richardson’s vocals are a strong replacement so far. The band, while much more static onstage than their opener and co-headliner, provided a perfect setlist of both new and classic songs, as well as some B-sides, kicking it off with “U-Mass” from 1991’s Trompe le Monde and “River Euphrates,” the B-side to 1988’s “Gigantic.” They would proceed to perform some classics such as “Wave of Mutilation,” “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” “Mr. Grieves,” “Here Comes Your Man,” “Gouge Away,” “Hey,” and “Where Is My Mind?” They would also play another B-side favorite, a cover of “In Heaven,” more informally known as The Lady in the Radiator song from David Lynch’s 1977 film Eraserhead. The Pixies have had an incredibly impressive career spanning almost 40 years, and this setlist has evidenced a versatile discography with a classic ‘80s and ‘90s alternative sound that we know, love, and still appreciate today.
