Interview with Gus Gus

When you admire a band so much it's quite easy to spend too long thinking up really profound questions only to find that they are in fact human and are ultimately baffled by your obscure and intricate questions... it's like asking "what is the meaning of life?". So, the poor and unfortunate President Bongo from Gus Gus was in for a real treat when trying to answer these 'fan' *cough cough* -tastic questions put together by Cat On The Wall's editor in chief CB Lux...

Cat On The Wall: Some might say your music is cold and slick because it’s electronic yet there is a lot of soul and heart in it. This can’t just be due to being an Icelandic band, with the stereotypical icy landscape vs. warm inhabitants so how do you explain the vibrancy of your soundscapes?

President Bongo: We use analogue equipment that sounds soft 'n nice and our skin is very soft. We use a lot of good cream every time after the swimming pool, everyday. It works wonders! This has to melt into the music, right? We also hate "toppy" music, that's probably why it's warm? But really, I don't know the answer to this question.. hehe

COTW: To the risk of sounding like a fan, I’ve been following Gus Gus from the beginning and I remember fondly some great gigs back in 1997 and 98 when there were 9 people on stage. How would you say the live shows have evolved from being a collective of people to being a semi-closed circle of performers?

PB: There are less people on stage?

COTW: Your lyrics have been for the most part quite simple yet tinged with lots of depths and a shade of darkness. They might appear simple at first, what with you making music people enjoy dancing to, they’re great tracks to play in club but to listen to them in the comfort of one’s home they reveal a lot of layers and I wonder if using the English language might enable you to express a heavier side as artists as you might using Icelandic. What do you think about when you write?

PB: Daniel Àgust writes almost all the lyrics to the actual "songs". I only wrote stems like
"I wanna dance, dance you down" and "If you don't jump you're English" hehe. So, I have no idea how he does it! But I love it! Daniel is an amazing singer.

COTW: In a recent interview you said “the new album might be described as some mixture of Gusgus from the past” and it’s easy to see why you would make such a statement. To me 24/7 is strongly reminiscent of tracks like Purple, Demo 54, Lust, Porn, Call of the Wild or even Remembrance. Considering Gus Gus started as a collective, how would you say it evolved over the years to end up going back to its roots 15 years later with only 3 band members? Have you developed a certain “artistic” language to ease up the creative process?

PB: All the tracks you mention are from a wide area of 12 years. We are what we are and of course some sounds are gusgus. We use synths that we love and they put in the colour that we are recognized from. I never think a lot about these things anyhow... I just try to make this boat move forwards and to make it interesting for us and others... as for development... I am 38 now, I have no idea how to answer.

COTW: 24/7 has been described by Kompakt as “a wet dream” and the video for Add This Song is certainly representing it well. Who did you work with to shoot the song? Was it strange to lick Daniel’s nose?

PB: The video for ‘Add This Song’ was written in collaboration with gusgus and Sexyworld Directors, Heimir Sverrisson and Jon Atli Helgason. It was wonderful to "outsource" the video making this time and the working period of the video was a pleasure!
Daniel’s nose was pretty sweet to lick I must say. :)

COTW: You have produced an extensive list of remixes for other artists. How are you approached in regards to producing a remix and do you choose who you want to work with? Is the creative process significantly different when you remix another artist’s track or do you handle it the same way you would a Gus Gus song?

PB: We never do remixes of songs that we don't like. If we do and the artist wants (or we want) to mix the procedure is much like making a track of our own, especially when you have to add a lot of your own music. Sometimes the parts from the track to be remixed are so good that you only need to re-arrange and add some flavour of your own... These are the best mixes for me! The real re-mix!

COTW: Most of Europe is already under Gus Gus’s spell and I think it’s about time the UK finally wakes up to the band (I’ve actually been carrying your flag since I moved to the UK over 10 years ago). Do you think success is important when making music or you’re not that focused on breaking in a country or another? Do you also think the internet is changing mentalities of both artists and audiences in terms of opening horizons and prospects?

PB: Well, of course it's important to be successful in terms of being able to concentrate on your music and don't have financial worries. This is not possible for us. We all have different projects to keep us alive and one of us even works in a bank full time as computer scientist. We don't really think about any countries when we make music or breaking those markets (when we do it's for laughs really... like we knew that we were gonna conquer India with the ethnic bass solo in ‘On the Job’). It’s wonderful when people like what we do and we tend to go where they do.
I think the internet is what it is... it's making a lot of dreams come true and killing the same amount. It’s opening and it's closing horizons and prospects. It’s great! It’s horrible!

COTW: Finally, we want you to come play in Cardiff! When can we book a gig for you? Food’s on us!

PB: You pay the flights and we'll cook the food! How about that?

Interview by CB Lux.

Gus Gus official website

Interview with James Nemo

James Nemo could easily be described as the new Scott Walker. His music is quirky, melodic and above all heartfelt. It's not surprising then that Walker is cited as one of Nemo's biggest influences. Cat On The Wall's Jo Whitby caught up with the Berlin based songwriter via myspace...

Cat On The Wall: Most will recognise you as the front man of the London electro outfit Nemo. Although the band's original line-up has parted ways, you mention on your myspace profile that Nemo is still an active project. Can you tell us about the future plans for Nemo? What can we expect?

James Nemo: Nemo's line up has actually changed with every album. The first album '5 Minute Heroes' featured the talents of guitarist/keyboard player Simon Davies. He left and was replaced on 'Post Human Love' by the equally talented Kevin Kennedy, who subsequently managed half of the follow up album 'The Third Wave'. Bassist Milan Adamik also left the band before completion of the third album. The only person apart from myself who played on all three albums is drummer Section Q aka Jamie Boulton, who has now since left.
As the main songwriter and only surviving original member, I guess I have to say that Nemo is basically my band. I would definitely not rule our making another album, and would work with whoever was available, although I do not plan to do so in the immediate future.
My career is definitely moving into solo territory now.

COTW: You've recently exchanged London for Berlin. Why this particular location? How are you settling in?

JN: I have settled in wonderfully, and actually cannot conceive of another existence at the moment. I love Berlin, it has been a great inspiration for me creatively and I have renewed my love of writing, something which had definitely got lost during the last two years of my London Life. I have made lots of new friends and continued some old friendships. London seems like a distant dream now, and although I miss my close friends and family, I feel increasingly detached from it every time I return there.

COTW: What's your musical history? When did you decide that music was the right direction for you? Who or what inspired you to take that first step?

JN: I decided around the age of fifteen that I wanted to be a songwriter when I found an old guitar under the stairs in my parents house, taught myself some chords and immediately began writing songs on it. I have never veered away from this auto-didactic approach, I tried singing lessons once or twice but never felt comfortable with it it.
My schooling came from singing along to and memorizing all the pop songs I heard as a child. This then led to an obsession with certain singers/songwriters, most notably Lou Reed and then later David Bowie. I also discovered the amazing voice of Scott Walker in my early 20s. I would say that those three people were the primary inspiration for my work.
I have also spent fifteen years working closely with classically trained musicians, especially string players. These are talents I have very much admired for a long time.

COTW: Do you have a creative process when writing songs? How does a song begin to form?

JN: I have many different ways for writing songs. I might just strum an idea on a guitar or play something simple on piano. I often get words and phrases separately which I jot down in my note book and add to music later. Sometimes these ideas come simultaneously and song can evolve in it's entirety very quickly. Equally I get inspiration from other musicians, sometimes jamming ideas or running with a riff or piece of music someone in the band might might come up with, then shaping that into a song.
Other successful methods include dream ideas. I often wake myself in the middle of sleeping where I dream I am singing, writing or performing a song, and grab a guitar or dictaphone and get it down in the 'real' world before it disappears back into the ether. You would be amazed how many Nemo songs were written all or in part from this method!
A song can take somewhere between 5 minutes and 10 years to be completed...

COTW: The Dollhouse is a new project you're working on. How did this come about?

JN: Anne Marie Kirby is one of my oldest and dearest friends, she is also an extremely talented violinist and string arranger. We began writing songs together ten years ago, but never got round to recording and completing a whole album. I decided last year that it was time to get the first album finally completed, especially as I desperately wanted to make an album with a string section. So we finished off some of the older songs and also wrote some new ones to make up the album 'The Dollhouse'. It features many talented musicians including Phil France from the Cinematic Orchestra, a plethora of string players as well as Kevin Kennedy from Nemo on bass and Kathleen Herold on drums, who formally played with Robots in Disguise, but now drums with Nemo as well as the Dollhouse.
We began work on it in London, but I finally finished it in March this year at Gordon Raphael's studio here in Berlin.

COTW: If there was anyone you could collaborate with who would it be and why?

JN: I would love to work with my good friend Chris Corner on something big. Myself and Anne Marie are preparing a Dollhouse/Iamx collaboration at the moment, and I am going to work on my solo album this winter in the IAMX factory. We are also discussing/planning a promo film for a Dollhouse/Nemo song.
I helped with the Secret Friend video and that was immensely enjoyable. We also just finished a sizeable European tour together which was also great fun.
So I guess that will do for now...

COTW: What are you reading/listening to right now?

JN: I don't read that much, I find that my mind wanders away to places. I don't listen to that much music any more either, I have too much of it swimming about in my head most of the time. However, I basically love Science Fiction, Conspiracy Theories and Comedy. Put all three together and I am in heaven!

COTW: What are your plans for the near future?

JN: I think I have answered most of that in question seven, but to expand... I am releasing 'The Dollhouse' album at the moment and planning a promo video and some theatre shows for that project in March.
I have written most of my solo album (James Nemo - Black Market Futures) and begin work on it now in November and December, residing in the IAMX factory/studio complex in the East Berlin countryside. This will hopefully be completed by January/February.
I will then continue my live excursions. This will incorporate solo shows with electric guitar and electronics, two piece sets with myself and a drummer, three piece sets with bass player, plus some four piece Nemo sets and shows with string players where possible.
The line up will depend on the fee and the location! The more money i get paid, the more musicians I can use and the bigger the variety of songs I can perform.
Next year I will have 5 albums to promote, the three Nemo ones, The Dollhouse, and my first solo record.
I see it as a life project to present and promote this music forever. I will continue to find new and interesting ways to perform my songs from my increasing catalogue of albums.
I would like to thank all my friends and fans who have continued to support me through the years. I am very exited moving forward into 2010.

www.myspace.com/jamesnemoandthedollhouse
Photography by Petr Klapper and Hella Wittenberg

Interview with Alec Empire

Alec Empire is one of the most influential and active musicians of the last 20 years, he seems unstoppable: tours, festivals, writing and producing his own music as well as others (most recently Patrick Wolf), writing film soundtracks and subsequently featuring in the same film (see our interview with director Richard Wilhelmer) and over the years remixing the likes of Bjork, Primal Scream and IAMX. Yet he has found some time in his busy schedule to answer our probing questions...


Cat On The Wall: How would the nearly 4 decades old Alec Empire reflect on the Alec Empire who started out almost 20 years ago? What have you learned on an artistic and also a personal level?

Alec Empire: I learnt so much... still have the same goals though. The past twenty years have been so exciting and when I look back it seems that they have passed by so fast. Maybe because I never stopped, one great opportunity presented itself after the other. There have been real dark times as well, but I knew they would come. I have been a music enthusiast from a very young age, and I knew that the lives of my heroes weren't always easy... I mean if you do what I do, you have to be prepared to take one punch after the next one. From all sides.
I do music that nobody else can do, so it is much harder to get it out there, because music industry people kept asking me the same question since I started: ‘Who should listen to this?’ Haha... I still remember one of those great moments in my life, when I received a fax from the legendary radio DJ John Peel in 1994 in the middle of the night, saying the record that we had sent him was "brilliant"... You have to understand that when Berlin was divided by The Wall, his radio show was so important for me when I was a kid. To then get a fax ten years later, I just sat there in silence, staring at it and was blown away. Since then I have met and worked with some of the greatest musicians of my time.

COTW: Is there an artistic expression or project you haven't yet explored but would like to before you die? If so, how do you think it will get done? If not, why not?

AE: I can see myself doing many things, from writing an opera to an acoustic album. I don’t feel that I have any limits. Right now I think that it is very appealing to write very long music pieces which force the listener to pay attention and really listen to music, instead of short blips of pop songs which keep losing impact... It seems... With modern recording technology there is so much more that can be done and I think about it almost every day, connect dots in my mind, you know... It’s like a riddle that needs solving.
I think remix culture needs to progress a lot. I could see a situation in the future where one could get classic albums like Clash’s London Calling in various remix formats, but not so it fits a bit the modern standards of sound or what DJs play, more like a modern interpretation of amazing music which we inherited from the past. But the copyright laws would have to open up for new music to be set free. Me remixing Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde? Yeah, that would be a great challenge. We have to be careful that this “art” is not becoming like a cheap free fast food promotion tool. I still see a division between the electronic music scene and the musicians who play the more traditional instruments. These borders have to be torn down. Both sides need each other to survive and to create.

COTW: You are very active publicly, on the internet, Twitter, Facebook, your own blog Eat Your Heart Out etc, yet very private: very little is known about your domestic persona. Is separating both of your selves necessary in this age of communication when so many artists put most aspects of their lives on display for anyone to grab in order to remain productive?

AE: I keep my dark sides from the social network sites. In my opinion these are too private. To me it always feels like talking to like-minded people at a show or a party... I don’t go out much in Berlin because I find the scene there quite boring, so I love to have conversations with friends of mine via the internet, to me it’s like being on the phone.
When I did a DJ set on Blip FM it was so much fun because I got all these comments from listeners from all over the world, while if I had done the same thing in Berlin in some bar (I was choosing weird obscure music, not the Alec Empire DJ set I’d do in clubs or at raves), the typical 200 would have come out for a weird party like that... Instead there were much much more people listening in. I also love that people recommend great music to me this way.
I don’t believe in hierarchies, so I respect everyone equally. So to me the internet has replaced what used to be the local scene. I travel so much that I stay in touch with everybody. I think that’s a good thing and there is no danger in that if you know how to deal with it. In terms of a control society, where it is very easy to see what everyone is doing: I wouldn’t even have a problem with that so much if we would apply the same to politicians and people in power. Look into everybody’s bank account, check what they’re doing! Haha... I love it when politicians use that “Why are you against the new passports? Do you have something to hide?“ thing... We should ask them the same question back every time they try to hide how corrupted they all really are....

COTW: On Shivers you are working again with Nic Endo. Have you ever stopped working with her? Is this the longest relationship you've had? What is it that keeps you and Nic drawn to working together?

AE: Nic and me have been through a lot of phases, ATR, the various Alec Empire line ups, everything that comes with it... We have a real understanding in the studio and on stage when it comes to making music, and anything creative really, together. Nic is very critical and can point out the weak parts quickly... She has a different opinion on many issues, but I like that. She has no Punk Rock roots, and she feels very often that this side can get too childish if you know what I mean. So that is cool. I listened to the Ramones a lot when I was a kid, she didn’t and she reminds me often that I have moved on from that for a long time. Haha... With a song like Kiss Of Death, it can be an issue... just an example... Nic’s strength is that she is so specialized in creating sounds. She has gone much deeper into this than I have, while I can write songs and have the structure of it all in my head, so we both can add important elements to the music. We can also get into huge fights in the studio... but this has always been very constructive for the both of us. Nic is also as hard working as I am: I mean with that that we both live and breathe music and art, every hour of the day... She would call me and go “Hey I’ve seen this film and there is this part in it, watch it and then let’s figure out how we can break up the new song in a similar way as that director broke up the story line“ or something like that... Nic is also responsible for all the artwork since 1999... She has also shot every photo we have done this year.

COTW: I'm a musician myself with a love of electronics and I've hit a brick wall when it comes to performing live mainly due to the fact that I lack a full band and the have a very small budget. You don't seem to have your entire studio on stage with you. What's your secret?

AE: I come from an era where everyone was forced to find solutions because everything was so limited. Nobody can imagine that we had samplers with 2MB, yes megabyte! memory...and we did a lot of music. Actually most of my tracks which were produced before 1994 were done on a sampler like that. Our secret was to always buy pro gear. It is better to have less stuff that sounds great than a lot of the consumer instruments. Nic Endo uses the MPC 2000XL a lot live and an AKAI S6000, these are two machines that are old now but they have a great sound. It is really about focusing on what exactly you want to get across live. In the studio we work a lot with modular synths, but it would be insane to bring this stuff on stage. So we use samples instead. Same with guitars. On many tracks I play live guitars, because they add something. On others we want that sound of a sampled guitar... It is how we worked in Atari Teenage Riot a lot... It is that sound and it is razor sharp over a big PA so the limitations that we face during live shows influence the studio work again. It is a dialogue between the two worlds.
I never had any moral issues with using samples or patterns live... This is the history of electronic music. I hate these types of musicians who think that when they reproduce something on a traditional instrument on stage, that that is a very special skill. It is not. Most rock bands we get to see these days on big festivals are pre-programmed in their mind. To me there is no difference between a drum machine and a drummer when both don’t turn their weaknesses into strength. I personally prefer old dance records to new ones, like old disco stuff where they had real drummers, it’s a different groove that has slight changes even though the drummer thought he held the beat perfectly in time. So I decided at one point that the musical idea is what matters, not the rules the craftsmen dictate. We have entered a time where the physical limitations of our body shouldn’t restrict us anymore.

COTW: You've been quoted as saying that due to mp3s the quality of music is progressively getting poorer. Bands are just not putting in the effort any more, they are not trying to be innovative. Do you feel this is due to the fact that anyone is now able to record, upload, distribute and access music? Musicians have a more "that will do" mentality?

AE: I think mp3s sound bad, they do not sound physical. It is the same with photography by the way. A real photo has such a high resolution it can have a strong impact on each viewer. That’s the same with music. I remember when it was a strong competition between musicians... like who has the best sounding record, the most powerful sounding one. Then at some point when it got too technical, the lo-fi scene put more emphasis on the vibe and atmosphere of a recording. Everybody tried to do their best.
This mentality is gone now. Most people working in the music industry are cynical now so they don’t want to make an effort if they don’t get paid enough. To be a sound engineer is a very difficult job. It is not only about the musicians and the labels. There are fewer and fewer who are passionate about what they do due to mp3 piracy. I can totally relate to that. It costs money to get a great sound, whatever music style you do. I don’t like that development at all. We can only hope that with shorter download times there will be better quality sound files at some point. At this point in my life I don’t care about selling music anymore, I don’t have to, but I am very worried about young artists. They struggle so hard and get ripped off by everyone: promoters, labels, their own fans... everybody... and they can’t do anything about it.
I think we need a recording ban or a strike. Musicians refuse this system of exploitation until a solution is found. I also criticize that this situation has given sponsors so much power. There is a similar development in film. It is getting out of balance. I will never understand why someone would not pay ten dollars or so for a recording to accept all the corporate bullshit that controls the music, I mean that when people refuse to pay for their artist's products, the artists are forced to get financed via other channels (putting music in adverts, sponsoring etc). And when corporations like Nike, Diesel, Levis, Vodaphone, Coke etc decide which artist to take on, they shape the music scene. Music can only live and thrive when a real dialogue is happening between artists and music listeners. This dialogue is too disturbed by the corporates right now, innovation seems impossible. Filesharing hasn't brought more fairness into the game, it has given the corporations more power over music which should be chosen by the people instead. In the past it was more balanced, not ideal at all but more balanced. Music has to come first on the list! The question 'can we get this song into an ad?' shouldn't hang like a dark cloud over the artist's head when writing, recording music. I see that being the case in many studios right now, and it makes me sad because it takes away honesty and quality from music. I see musicians writing music, so they hope they can get it into an advert, which is the only way for them to pay for their costs so they end up working for that system and not the music fans. It should be the other way round. Adverts should have music in them that people listen to. Germany’s car industry is smaller than the entertainment industry. None of the politicians would think about bailing out the music industry for a second...
Either we have a society that offers everything for free or we pay... Do I want art and music to be provided by big corporations because they are the only ones who can afford to produce it? No. Why? Because it won’t work. Music has to move, it has to change... It must be alive. It is a very complex discussion and no side has the answers right now. At the moment I criticize that it is becoming major record companies on one side using the justice system to fight file sharers, who are very fundamentalist and ignorant about their position. When something is for free, it is free, there is no way back. But in our capitalist society being free means you die financially, so we must find another way.

COTW: When you're not busy making music, DJing, protesting.., doing all the artistic and political things that you do - what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

AE: I don’t divide my time like that. I work all the time and I don’t feel like I work at all, you know... Everything I do has an influence on my music. I never go on holidays or something like that. I find that boring. I love food and sports... but anything I do seems to just give my brain time to work out new ideas... so I never stop...

COTW: You speak often of revolution. We're with you on that but at the moment it seems like an impossible dream with every new generation becoming more and more apathetic. How will this revolution come about and what will it involve?

AE: It’s a complex discussion but I’ll try to keep it short! I think we need a different society, system. Capitalism is wasting so much talent right now and is hurting and even killing people. In Germany most people are born into their jobs/positions even though on paper everyone seems equal. We need to find a new way, a way which doesn’t divide our society into fewer rich and more poor people... Everybody should be able to “win”. The media reports that more people are apathetic, but I see something different. More young people are organized than ever before. Of course there is not one big movement, like we have perhaps seen in the 60s, because it’s all much more fragmented right now. This is good in my opinion, because most people have realized that the answers are not simple. There is more information around, the internet offers people to form their own opinion, and they use it. TV stations have difficulties finding their audience, if we compare the situation to 20 years ago. I am convinced that this development will lead to a new way of thinking, because it is hard to win the majority of people.
This means everybody has to learn how to accept and respect even small groups in our society. The more power is divided and shared the better. Over the past year, during the financial crisis, many have seen how dangerous it is not to care about politics, because everyone can become a victim. Revolution is the extension of evolution. The situation is heating up right now. Politicians seem to act in the interest of international corporations rather than the people who elected them. This is wrong and more and more people see that.

COTW: Finally, what next for Alec Empire?

AE: A lot of recording! Collaboration with Dillinger Escape Plan and more... A bunch of films are waiting for me... We are preparing our US tour for Spring then Summer Festivals... Always running that motor in the red... I love it!

www.alec-empire.com/

Interview by Jo Whitby & CB Lux

Win a pair of ALEC EMPIRE tickets!

Competition closed.

Just in case you miss out on the tickets here's some info about the upcoming tour...

Alec Empire is hitting the UK streets this November, there are only 5 dates so make sure you book you tickets very soon!

UK TOUR DATES:
18.11.2009 NEWPORT, TJS
19.11.2009 LONDON, O2 ACADEMY ISLINGTON
20.11.2009 BIRMINGHAM, EDDIE´S
21.11.2009 MANCHESTER, CLUB ACADEMY
22.11.2009 EDINBURGH, GRV

Alec will also be releasing a download only single '1000 Eyes' which is out on the 7th December 2009. The single is taken from the short film 'The Golden Foretaste of Heaven'. COTW recently interviewed directer Richard Wilhelmer about the film and his life.


Tickets and the single will be available from www.digitalhardcore.greedbag.com and all the usual download stores.

http://www.alec-empire.com

Pixies - Doolittle Tour @ Le Zenith - Paris, France 15th October 2009

Review by Ian Lewis

Pixies. Doolittle. Tour. Those three words are enough to stir up many emotions in Pixies fans. Nostalgia in those who were lucky enough to attend the first Doolittle shows in 1989. Excitement in the younger generation of Pixies fans, who somewhere along the way were drawn to the seminal alternative band's music. A majority of the crowd were in their mid 20's. However, it was refreshing to see enough of the first wave of Pixies fans that they were in fact noticed. Proving that no matter your age or family commitments some are still willing to rock out. Which is indeed what the crowd at the first of the Pixies two nights in Paris did.

Le Zenith was packed with everyone waiting in anticipation for the band to take stage. We were treated to a version of the 1920's surrealist film Un Chien Andalou, by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali, accompanied by a minimalist soundtrack with increasing tempo. Film, as a theme, would continue throughout the night. The stage was set in a very calculated manner. Moving white spheres connected by tubes hung above the stage. Each song was accompanied by a video that followed a theme in that song. Some in the black and white style of Un Chien Andalou, others quite bizarre, and even the more simple videos displaying song lyrics. Something lazier bands wouldn't take the time to create and would substitute with an oscillating visualizer ripped off of iTunes.

When the Pixies took stage to a barrage of cheers and claps from the crowd, they warmed up with a few B-Sides. Starting with "Dancing the Manta Ray", "Weird at my School", "Bailey's Walk", and "Manta Ray." This was sure to please anyone who listens to the deeper cuts of the Pixies catalogue. At first, no one really knew how the set-list would pan out. Would they play the entire album in track order? When "Manta Ray" was followed by Kim Deal's instantly recognizable base notes that open "Debaser", most of the audience's feet left the ground. Some Parisians even responded by storming the crowd and thrashing their way from the back of the floor to the front of the stage with reckless abandon.

Following were "Tame", with Black Francis showing that he can still produce his wild scream, and a very inspired "Wave of Mutilation". Kim Deal teased the crowd about which song would be next by saying, "We are going to skip to the end of the album." When "I Bleed" followed, pretty much everyone knew how the set list would continue, in the Doolittle album track order. Well, everyone except for one guy. When Kim continued to joke with us in English and French banter, asking if we knew what was next, the guy screamed "Hey" in response to this and also between the next few songs, before catching on.

A criticism of more recent Pixies tours was how awkward they looked together on stage, like they would rather be somewhere else with different people. This can have a very negative effect on the crowd and translate into them also not having fun. It appears that the band have really worked out their differences. Each member looked like they were having a blast on stage. When "Here Comes Your Man" came next it may have been one of the most memorable moments of the night. A fun song to begin with, the video played during it added to the good vibes. Each band member was filmed and displayed next to each other miming to the song, bobbing their heads, air drumming, laughing, and simply having fun.

Musically the Pixies were on point. Few people can hit vocal notes in the same fashion as twenty odd years earlier, but Francis and Deal came remarkably close during their vocals. The Pixies style isn't perfectionist anyway. It wouldn't really matter if they couldn't, with Joey Santiago shredding his guitar the way he does the instrumental aspects stand out more at times. On "Monkey Gone to Heaven", Santiago's wailing guitar solo and Frances' screaming verse ending with "...and god is seven" brought the audience to a frenzy, shouting along. A similar response was garnered from the obvious favorite "Hey". It may have been the most anticipated word from Francis all night. With the screen behind displaying key words for the audience to shout along (like they needed it anyway`) and during the "we're chained" refrain linking together chains, it created a great effect and proved to be a defining moment of the show, really bringing together the performers and audience.

Drummer David Lovering seemed to be in great spirits as well. He seemed like a superior technically adept child who just got a new kit on Christmas morning, bouncing up and down with a smile on his face. On "La La Love You" his deep sounding lead vocals while drumming were very precise, not an easy task doing both simultaneously. This also created another lovable moment when Francis turned and spoke directly to Santiago and Deal on the opening "I...Love...You" vocals.

Waving goodbye before the closer, "Gouge Away", it seemed that would be it. They took their bows and received love from the audience with much grace. To have so many people still love and adore you after twenty turbulent years must be overwhelming. However, they came back to give more. Twice. The first encore consisted of the more toned down UK Surf version of "Wave of Mutilation", they quietest song of the night. They played very loud in Le Zenith, not like that's a bad thing. Following was the more obscure Kim Deal sung track "Into the White", highlighting more of Santiago's guitar, bringing him to his knees in the finale as a silhouette inside a thick fog of white smoke. The second encore began with Surfer Rosa's "Bone Machine", sandwiching "Nimrod's Son" and "Caribou" between the last song of the night "Where is My Mind?" Another crowd favorite with its well known strumming from Francis and plucking from Santiago providing a fitting finale to end the night on a high note.

After 25 songs they weren't expected to also play the entire Surfer Rosa album too. We would have stuck around for it though. A common complaint about seeing a live Pixies show is that they don't really stretch out or rework their songs for a live audience. Some ran slightly longer than on record, but for the most part were played as on the album. It shouldn't be expected from the Pixies. They aren't known for "jamming" and maybe it would seem awkward for them to do so. They have always had a trademark straight forward, in your face style, with songs not following each other like a slow flurry of falling snow but more like bullets from an automatic weapon.


Set-list:

Intro Film (Un Chien Andalou)


Dancing The Manta Ray

Weird at My School

Bailey's Walk

Manta Ray

Debaser

Tame

Wave of Mutilation

I Bleed

Here Comes Your Man

Dead

Monkey Gone to Heaven

Mr. Grieves

Crackity Jones

La La Love You

No.13 Baby

There Goes My Gun

Hey

Silver

Gouge Away


Encore 1

Wave of Mutilation (UK Surf)

Into the White


Encore 2

Bone Machine

Nimrod's Son

Caribou

Where is My Mind?