Pixies treated its Irish fans to the live debut of their new single, "Oyster Bed," while under a circus tent at an airport.
The once bustling Galway Airport used to hustle 300k travelers a year through its doors. But as planes got larger and the 100 year-old runways were incapable of lengthening, it was determined in 2011 it was no longer a viable airport for anything other than private jets.
Last year the city, in a creative way to fund the repairs of the old spot, decided that until it could be transformed into a movie studio or something else profitable, it could be used as a music venue, temporarily.
So this month The Galway Summer Sessions was launched with a series of gigs starring the likes of Fatboy Slim, Madness, The Waterboys, The Coronas, The Two Door Cinema Club, James Arthur, Pixies, and others.
The groups played under a huge circus tent on the grounds of the 115-acre airport. The capacity is capped at 5,000 attendees to ensure a cozy feel.
And what's cozier than hearing a band led by Black Francis play new songs from a forthcoming album named The Night The Zombies Came, the first featuring their new bassist you may remember from Band of Skulls.
Francis, guitarist Joey Santiago, drummer David Lovering, and bassist Emma Richardson gave those 5,000 fans their money's worth as they played 29 songs including covers by The Jesus and Mary Chain, Neil Young, and David Lynch.
“It’s not like I wrote a bunch of songs about zombies or that we tried to make the album sound scary or anything like that,” the singer who also goes by Frank Black told Rolling Stone. “‘Zombie’ is just an associative word. You can do with it what you like. And it’s not a concept record, but that word kept popping up in the lyrics. When I combed through all the other lyrics for a title, they just sounded corny as shit. The only thing that made sense was The Night the Zombies Came. And I was like, ‘You know what? That’s a pretty good title. I’d go see that movie.'”
A month ago the band played three new songs ("Chicken," "The Vegas Suite" and "You're So Impatient") for Current in Minnesota from what will be the Boston alt-rockers' ninth studio album.
"Oyster Bed" is the second single off the album due to drop in October.
Francis says it's about a list of things he was painting during the recording of the LP in Wales.
Because no one under the tent posted video of the historic live debut, here's the official lyric video of the song.
This album comes out exactly 35 years after the group's best-selling LP, 1989's Doolittle.
Material from Zombies and Doolittle accounted for nearly half of the tunes the group played Tuesday night. The remainder came from Surfer Rosa, Come On Pilgrim, Bossanova, and Trompe Le Monde - which span 1988-1991.
None of their four offerings from this century arrived at the Galway Airport.
Opening was the Irish quartet NewDad who pleased the locals with originals from their debut LP, as well as a sweet rendition of The Cure's "Just Like Heaven."
They'll be coming to North America for the first time this fall. Stops will include Shubas in Chicago, Rickshaw Stop in SF, and The Echo in LA. Tickets available on their website.
Pixies have one more Irish gig and it's tonight. Then they take a little break before heading to the other side of the globe to rock out with Pearl Jam.
Get your tickets on the Pixies' website.
August 2024
8/29 RDS Simmonscourt, Dublin, Ireland
November 2024 (with Pearl Jam)
11/08 Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, Auckland, New Zealand (sold out)
11/10 Go Media Stadium Mt Smart, Auckland, New Zealand
11/13 Heritage Bank Stadium, Gold Coast, Australia (sold out)
11/16 Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia (sold out)
11/18 Marvel Stadium, Melbourne, Australia
11/21 Giants Stadium, Sydney, Australia (sold out)
11/23 Giants Stadium, Sydney, Australia
