1. The Pixies are back—and they’re not slowing down. The Pixies’ decision to offer a pair of vastly different sets for their June 13 and 14 stops at Encore Theater isn’t wholly unprecedented, but it is a relatively novel concept for a pioneering alternative rock quartet of their caliber.
Diehards came to the first show to see back-to-back play-throughs of the group’s classic early-90s albums, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde, while younger converts and more casual fans were able to experience a comprehensive trip through the band’s full discography on night two.
With the exception of recently-added bassist Emma Richardson, the remaining three members—frontman Black Francis, guitarist Joey Santiago and drummer David Lovering—all hail from the band’s original 1986 lineup. Now in their sixties, the trio showed no signs of slowing down as they used their return to Sin City as a launch pad for an ambitious North American tour that’s set to run through September.
2. They played some of their personal favorites, plus B-sides. The June 14 set featured two distinct versions of one of the band’s most frequently performed songs, “Wave of Mutilation.” They brought out the original iteration—first heard on their iconic 1989 project, Doolittle—midway through the night, but returned to dish out the popular B-side “UK Surf” version with just a few songs to go. The group also made a point to include seven newer tracks off their 2024 release, The Night the Zombies Came.
3. They still hit (most) of the classics. Santiago recently told the Weekly he doesn’t get tired of playing the Pixies’ undisputed top hit, “Where Is My Mind.” The fans certainly appreciated this stance, as the song served as the encore on the first night and the penultimate entry on the second. The June 14 outing also included similar staples like “Hey,” “Here Comes Your Man” and five other Doolittle tracks sprinkled in throughout the show. “Gigantic” was the only heavy hitter that didn’t make its way into either set.
4. Newer member Emma Richardson fit right in. Richardson—formerly of Band of Skulls—became the Pixies’ fourth bassist last year after the band parted ways with 10-year veteran Paz Lenchantin. The senior Pixies embraced Richardson’s contributions early and often as the British-born artist took the lead on the first and final songs of their June 14 set.
First, a grinning Richardson flexed her chops by making a cover of Laurel Near’s “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” all her own. She proceeded to bring it home on the night-capping B-side gem, “Into the White.” It’s cool to see the founding members continue to commit to rostering a female bass player after all these years.
5. The Vegas factor. The Pixies mention Las Vegas a few times in their sprawling discography, but their 2024 track, “The Vegas Suite,” was a decisively smart addition to their June 14 set. In it, Black Francis notes that he’s “going away” to Vegas and recalls a “two-year run down in Henderson.” Both lines elicited booming cheers from an all-ages crowd that seemed to include a sizable number of homegrown fans.
Among them were Gen X couples who could be seen swaying to their favorite songs, just as they may have when they were teenagers during the band’s peak. At one point, an enthusiastic, blue-haired superfan made her way to the edge of the stage for a more intimate experience. Dozens more followed her lead, smiling and locking arms with peers they may or may not have actually met before.
The good vibes were also notably a family affair. Behind me, parents bonded with their teenage daughter by reciting lyrics word-for-word. If her enthusiasm is any indication, it appears as if the Pixies’ massive influence on the genre does not, in fact, skip a generation.
