Pixies with Sprints – RDS, Dublin – Live Review
by Killian Laher

A big crowd gathered for the quick return visit of the Pixies to Dublin, six months on from their shows at the 3Olympia.  They were supported by Sprints, who battled a muddy sound mix with loads of punky energy.  Led by singer Karla Chubb, who spoke well regarding immigration and tolerance, before launching into Delia Smith which got a large section of the audience clapping along.  After a thrash through Literary Mind they finished with a powerful version of Little Fix, joined by a small child towards the end!  It was a visceral performance that really warmed the crowd up.

The Pixies kicked off their set with the guitar-riff heaven of U-Mass and they could do little wrong from there.  Although some might have been purely there for nostalgia, they threw in a smattering of new material such as You’re So Impatient and the pleasantly lumbering Chicken from their forthcoming album (which they plugged on the screens).  They unleashed classic after classic – Bone Machine, Caribou and Cactus were played flawlessly, working well in a sound mix which seemed to improve for their set.  Emma Richardson got her chance to shine on bass and whispered vocal for Debaser.  But it was the guitar interplay from Frank Black and Joey Santiago that ignited the crowd on the likes of Monkey Gone To Heaven and a superb version of The Happening.

Richardson took vocal duties on an ominous In Heaven along with a backing vocal on Motorway to Roswell, while Santiago played a guitar solo with his cap (!) on Here Comes Your Man.  Nimrod’s Son was stretched out, featuring slowed-down parts, before barrelling to its conclusion.  A tight and ruthlessly efficient set culminated in Gouge Away, Where Is My Mind and Neil Young’s Winterlong.  It was the last night of their European tour and the band even cracked a smile or two at the end of their set, soaking in the adulation of the audience.  That didn’t extend to playing an encore, but few in the crowd could have been disappointed with their performance.