The Pixies 'Doolittle' Tour - Right or Wrong?

One reason I love Chicago (apart from having been born and raised there until my early 20s) is that there are two great rock critics working for the two main papers in town - Greg Kot and Jim DeRogatis. Now some may take exception to my use of the word 'great' when describing their work, but like that other great Chicago critical powerhouse - Siskel and Ebert - from years ago, Kot & DeRogatis have always been a consistent, passionate couple of music critics.

Last week, both critics reviewed a show on The Pixies 'Doolittle' tour, which hit Chicago last week for three big shows at the great Aragon Ballroom. Here's Kot's take on the show: "At the finish, Black Francis, Deal, Lovering and Santiago gathered at the lip of the stage for a group bow, a rare display of team unity from a band not noted for its warmth. It was the only real surprise of the evening. The quartet plowed through the set with workmanlike dispatch, playing the songs exactly as recorded. As a live act, the Pixies were always pretty pedestrian; only Deal actually appeared to be enjoying herself on stage. Fortunately, the clamorous and still-extraordinary music made up for the showmanship gap."

Jim DeRogatis, writing in the Chicago Sun Times, saw the show perhaps a bit more cynically, but not too terribly different from Kot. "None of it was embarrassing, but none of it was extraordinary, either. The Pixies were a stilted, static band that added little fire to the songs in live performance in '89, and the same is true in '09. This time, however, you could buy a live digital recording of the show you just saw for $25 on the way out, to relive the experience you already bought with your $44.75 ticket. Of course, reliving the experience is what the new millennial Pixies are all about. And they seem happy to continue facilitating that as long as people want to keep buying it."

Keen insights from both, on the magic of The Pixies' music that once was to what the dollars in Black Francis' pocket sure feels like now. Extra kudos to Chicago music fans on their smart, balanced, insightful and passionate comments at both blog posts - definitely worth reading for various perspectives.

Here's a fine rendition of 'Debaser' for you fan boys out there from this week's Fallon show: