Location: Brixton Academy
May 13th 2010 marked the third and final night of Pavement’s sell out shows at Brixton (O2) Academy, the same location as their famed 1992 live tour of the classic ‘Slanted and Enchanted’ album. Now let me lay this down from the start; Pavement are my favourite band and they have been my favourite band since aged 16, I picked up the album ‘Crooked Rain’, on cassette, at WHS Smith in Southampton with a £10 gift voucher my aunt Janet bought me for Christmas (1994). Pavement will probably always be favourite band and over the years I have bought and listened to pretty much everything they have ever released. As a music reviewer, I guess they also act as my benchmark for the kind of music I like. I apologise for this indulgent wank down memory lane (not a typo), but the story continues…In 1998 I came within a whisker of seeing Pavement live. I had a ‘Sunday’ ticket for the V Festival, which I unwisely switched with a tout for £40 and a weekend ticket. A fake weekend ticket. As I trudged crestfallen from the festival site, I remember hearing strains of Pavement playing live, mocking me through catches of summer breeze. So here it was, after all these years, Pavement live.
Launching off with the masterful ‘Grounded’, Pavement went into a wonderfully rich set of key songs from their six studio albums. and ripped through a sterling repertoire, lasting almost two hours. From ‘Crooked Rain’ (my album, the album I grew up with!) came excellent renditions of ‘Gold Soundz’, ‘Silence Kit’, and ‘Newark Wilder’. The break down and guitar playoff between Steven Malkmus and Spiral Stairs on ‘Stop Breathin” was another highlight, a gorgeous, melodious riff which really shone out.
Other highlights from a rich back catalogue included true renditions of ‘Slanted And Enchanted’ and ‘Westing By Sextant’ and ‘Musket’ numbers; ‘Debris Slide’, ‘Two States’ and ‘Loretta’s Scars’. For my generation Pavement are as important as, say, The Velvet Underground. Faithful and inventive interpretations of classic songs were a delight live. Remember, this is a band that didn’t actually sell that well in their early-90′s heyday. Ten years since releasing any new material, how can Pavement sell out Brixton academy three nights running? Stephen Malkmus seemed to sulk and swoon, caressing, repositioning and cradling his guitar at various angles, with a nonchalant swagger. At first he looked like he’d rather be elsewhere, but then something clicked and he seemed to start enjoying himself. The intriguingly entertaining Bob Nastonovich; on percussion, backing vocals, screams and a range of different wibbles and warbles, also doubled up on drums on a number of tracks, and is a hugely underrated part of Pavement’s sound. Spiral Stairs on guitar is one of the key indie guitarists. That grungy sound that typified the Pavement is very much his baby, as important in his own right as Steve Jones to the Sex Pistols, with Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg’s ability to switch from rhythm to lead, working as an engine room with the excellent Mark Ibold on bass and Steve West on drums. ‘Spit on a Stranger’ and ‘The Hexx’ from Terror Twilight went down well, plus an outstanding, stripped down and emotional version of ‘Here’, highlighting Malkmus’ song writing strengths.
After a short break, the band emerged and released a bunch of enormous balloons into the crowd. A couple of rockier numbers, ‘Stereo’ from Brighten the Corners and ‘Fight this Generation’ from Wowee Zowee folowed. Malkmus adds that bit of magic as and when he feels like it, and his loose and unpredictable role belies a truly accomplished lead guitarist. There was a slight sense of tension between band members at times, but there also seemed to be a healthy level of piss taking. Eventually, and they made us wait, came ‘Range Life’, a wonderful anthem for the slacker generation, and perhaps the track I have listened too the most in my life. A delighted crowd swayed and sung along, to a rarely talented, once in a generation band. It was a tight and coherent set which treated cherished songs with flair and respect for the original material. After a fifteen year wait to see my favourite band, it was a night I will always remember.
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Rating: 9.5/10 (4 votes cast)