Pixies played three consecutive nights in Germany last week (5/1, 5/2, 5/3) and gave a treat to each of the cities they rocked.
Thursday in Berlin they flooded the zone with a whopping 29 tunes. Friday in Cologne they live debuted a pair of new tracks from their latest record, The Night the Zombies Came.
And Saturday Munich got three hits neither of their German amigos got: "Nimrod's Son", "River Euphrates", and "U-Mass."
Pixies are plowing through their The Night The Zombies Came 2025 Euro Tour and it sure is interesting how Black Francis and the gang create their setlists.
As we discussed recently, this is a crew who, back in the day, arranged sets alphabetically, for funsies. Now decades later, it isn't surprising that when introducing two new tracks from the new wax, they wouldn't just spread them out, but instead give just one city the surprise.
Cologne got a live debut as the first song of the set on Friday, which, if you ask me, is a great spot for a new jam. When the curtains rise and the hoots and hollers echo, theres no better time to play something slightly unfamiliar, although true fans would have been wearing out the latest record in anticipation of hearing at least a few of those cuts in the new tour.
So "Ernest Evans" kicked it off and "Primrose" got its flowers as the 16th track of the night out of 32 songs. Sadly no one in that beautiful city chose to document it.
But the previous night in Berlin, quite a few Germans held up their phones, recorded, and uploaded the footage which is why we are now able to share with you this perfect trifecta of "Gouge Away," "Wave of Mutilation," and "Isla de Encanta," from their last two albums of the 1980s.
Francis' voice is still strong after all these years. While the power of drummer David Lovering, and the unique style of Joey Santiago is somehow just as fresh as the years before punk broke.
May has historically the second least-productive time for the Pixies as far as concerts go.
But there is a fantastic exception (other than this year).
Way back on May 3, 1988, they visited the legendary BBC DJ John Peel for their first time and performed a number of cuts that captured them live just as they were mastering their signature style.
They'd return later that year for another round of recordings.
Also on May 3, but in 2001, the band released their Complete B-Sides compilation. It was a treasure trove of rarities that collectors were previously only able to find in the US via pricey imports.
One of the highlights was a live recording of "In Heaven," a cover that was co-written by legendary director David Lynch. Sit back as the song builds and builds from something haunting and chill into something far from chill.
It takes their loud, quiet, loud style in a different perspective.
Finally, May 3, but in 2004 is when the group released their career-spanning greatest hits collection -- Wave of Mutilation: Best of Pixies.
The set lives up to its name.
The Pixies have quite a few more shows on deck in Europe including a pair at the Academy, Brixton, in London.
Then they come back to the US with back-to-back shows in Vegas, LA, Seattle, and Vancouver as well as 10 other North American cities.
These are gigs where they will play two of their '90s albums, Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde on night one, and their greatest hits on night two. So choose wisely when you grab your tickets on the Pixies' website.
