Hey!
While the long-mooted Pixies song-writing sessions stutter towards an uncertain future, Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV, otherwise know as Frank Black, or Black Francis to Kim, David and Joey, has been trying to meet you. Returning to the nom de plume under which he traded at his peak, the last year has seen the release of Bluefinger and Svn Fngrs to add to a discography which has averaged close to a release a year since his most seminal of bands disbanded in 1992. Though while the triumphant Pixies reunion was able to pack out the Claremont Showgrounds in 2007, a comfortably less than half capacity Metro Freo was a disappointing turnout for the Generation-X equivalent of Bob Dylan.
Opening with a half hour solo bracket, Francis straight away took us back 20 years to the debut Pixies album Surfer Rosa and the indelible Cactus. Pixies classics Wave of Mutilation and The Holiday Song followed, straying so far from the melody and delivery of their album counterparts that they were largely unrecognisable but for the lyrics. A truly magnetic personality, his light-hearted banter on topics ranging from repetitive rhyming schemes to nosy managers was interspersed to utilise the smaller crowd and create a relaxed communal vibe so rare in the live arena. With aching renditions of Horrible Day and The Water segueing to left-field Pixies tracks Mr. Grieves and Velouria, it was a wildly dynamic opening.
At this point, his backing band of bass and drums were introduced, though some annoyingly insistent chatter amongst parts of the crowd made it hard to catch their names. Tearing into Tight Black Rubber and Threshold Apprehension off Bluefinger, the band then proceeded to run through pretty much all of that album; the standout tracks including Captain Pasty and Lolita, as well as a smattering of tracks from this year’s mini-album Svn Fngrs. From the scowling yelps to the guttural screams, the most startling observation was just how well his voice has held up over the years.
With nothing under the Black Francis moniker from which to draw on except the 2 aforementioned records, it was unsurprising that the set began to drag around the hour mark. Having few pauses between tracks certainly didn’t help distinguish the latter part of the set, especially given how relatively straightforward his writing has been over the last 5 or so years.
In a pre-tour interview with Fasterlouder, Francis stated that there would be no Pixies songs played during the tour. While it is easy to understand his desire not to be mired in the past, it is a fine line to walk when you possess such a storied back catalogue. He himself appeared to acknowledge this with the opening bracket of songs, referring to it as the “ass-kissing” set. And he was right; our asses were kissed and that part of the show was indeed the highlight. The eclectic track selection, performed in his unmistakably abrasive and scattershot style, represented all that is great about his writing. The full-band performance, while as good as you would expect, was distinctly workman-like in comparison.
