Pixies / The Pale White - O2 Academy, Glasgow 20th August 2024

I made it to the O2 Academy in Glasgow on time to see the support band but getting into the venue came with the disappointment of having seated tickets rather than the expected standing ones, so I made it up to my seat and waited for the support band while growling under my breath at my dad for getting the wrong tickets.

At 8pm, a 3 piece came on called ‘The Pale White’. They greeted us and immediately broke into their heavy, grunge style setlist. I was instantly tuned in and loved the music they were producing. The drums carried the music, the first thing I said when they were playing was ‘That drummer is absolutely mental’. It was like watching Dave Grohol in a live Nirvana video. They played in great sync together and I noticed the skill each of them had at their instruments, the bass player adding in extra fills that made the music even better, the singer/guitarist always staying on key and using his huge selection of pedals and of course, the drummer hammering away. I will definitely be listening to them again and I would go see them live again in a heart beat.

I waited counting down the minutes till the Pixies came on. I definitely wasn’t the only one; as soon as the lights went out and the music turned on the whole crowd roared for the band as they ambled on stage bang on 9pm.

The bass player started plucking out a tune and I immediately recognised it as ‘Gouge Away’, the crowd cheered as Black Francis started singing.

As the concert continued, I looked round at the crowd and noticed the amount of young people in the audience. This brought a smile to my face because, as a young person who goes to a lot of gigs, I usually notice very few people my age in the crowd with the fan base coming from decades before I was born – I guess that’s the price I pay by being a young fan!. Seeing a young, lively crowd makes me hopeful that this timeless music will be kept alive. I remember being with my friend at an Undertones gig and being the youngest in the crowd, a moment I treasure is when we met two other young people who danced with us and told us we were fun, along with a man who came up to us and told us ‘Keep coming to these, you keep the music alive.’ Hopefully when I’m a middle aged woman taking my kids to concerts there will be other timeless bands that have a unique style too.

The music echoed and the atmosphere was unmatched underpinned by the eerie style the Pixies have. About half way through the set, when they got to playing ‘Is She Weird’ I realised that the band had not stopped playing since they came on. I also noticed there as no crowd interaction, just song after song. I remember they did the same thing last time I guess this meant they maximised their time, but I also thought it would have been nice to hear a word from the band.

They played many hit songs that were amazing to hear live. A personal favourite of mine was ‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’, followed by ‘Debaser’. The sound quality was amazing and the view I had of the band was great too. I was starting to forgive my dad!

Seeing the new bass player, Emma Richardson, made me nervous, I wasn’t sure if she would fit as well as Paz Lenchantin who I always loved. I needn’t have worried Emma had an amazing voice that harmonised perfectly with Black Francis’ grungy vocals. She played a good performance on the bass and fitted in just perfectly.                                    

The music continued and I looked down at the standing audience jumping and moshing, which I always love to see at gigs. This came to a stop when ‘Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)’ came on and the crowd swayed singing every word. Next up was the Pixies most famous song ‘Where is My Mind’. The energy when this song started was just unforgettable. Although Black Francis took a different style with the verses which made it very hard to sing along until the chorus. I thought this was odd because it’s a song you sing with a whole crowd simply because everyone knows the lyrics. Black Francis did step back from the mic halfway through and let the audience sing the chorus. I liked that, I liked the crowd interaction.

They wrapped up the night with a Neil Young cover, ‘Winterlong’ and took to the front of the stage waving and smiling at the audience clearly grateful for the reception they had enjoyed. They bowed in a theatre style and exited the stage. They didn’t play an encore. The Pixies don’t have a planned set list, Francis just calls the next tune as the previous one ends. I think doing an encore it would have been a nice way to finish though.

Overall, it was an amazing gig, and a great night before I go back to the boring school days. I would definitely go and see both The Pale White and the Pixies another time and I hope both come by this way very soon again. Now, where is my chemistry book…?