Pavement
Palace Theatre, Melbourne
Friday 12th March 2010
Whatever the faults of Pavement’s self-selected career retrospective
Quarantine The Past (
our review), the reunited indie rock icons put on a tremendously enjoyable show at the first of two stops in Melbourne, the soon-to-be-adopted hometown of guitarist Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg. Despite casually tossing out such beloved singles as ‘Shady Lane’ and ‘Gold Soundz’ early on, the band was recognisably tighter than during its proper lifespan. Perhaps there was a sense that their growing legacy deserved something more legitimate, although leader Stephen Malkmus still tossed the book away by changing lyrics more than once. Stationed far to the stage’s left side, Malkmus stood apart from the rest of the band, who - alternatively - made no secret of having the time of their lives.
Opening with
Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain’s cheeky kickoff ‘Silence Kit’, Pavement moved quickly between songs from across its five-album output, as well as early singles. Several tunes felt weirdly arena rock compared to the recorded versions, but such was the cases when the Pixies first reunited. And one could only take percussionist Bob Nastanovich so seriously, rambling as he did between songs and leaping into different roles with vigour; shotgun drummer alongside Steve West, leader of crowd banter and screaming the chorus of ‘Unfair’ like a recovering punk. Malkmus seemed to not have a whole lot patience for everyone’s antics, teasing the next song on guitar whilst Nastanovich or whoever were still in mid-banter. Closer in line with Malkmus’s jam-friendly solo albums, ‘Fight This Generation’ and ‘Stop Breathin’’ were stretched into longer creations. Also jammy, though more predictably so, ‘The Hexx’ was the lone contribution from
Terror Twilight.
Other highlights? ‘We Dance’ was so fragmented that it bordered on a dreamy remix, while a guest pedal steel player – in town for Spiral’s upcoming nuptials with his Aussie bride – sat in for initially for the country-laced ‘Father To A Sister Of Thought’ but stayed for Spiral’s whooping ‘Kennel District’ and the off-the-cuff ‘Range Life’ - a total fluke that won’t likely be repeated. The serpentine set closed with a the early gem ‘Summer Babe’ and the latter-day highlight ‘Stereo’; the enthusiastic response to the latter showing the relatively young age of many punters on the Palace’s ground floor.
The first encore was a feast, comprised of songs expected (‘Date W/IKEA’, ‘Trigger Cut’) and surprising (‘Starlings Of The Slipstream’) before ending with the kiss-off ‘Box Elder’:
“I have to get the fuck out of this town.” Still, it was the second encore that cemented the show as a classic, opening with the jangling, tingly
Crooked Rain jewel ‘Elevate Me Later’ and closing with
Slanted & Enchanted’s urgent ‘Conduit For Sale!’, the latter of which saw local friends of the band come on stage to bark the latter’s endless refrain of “I’m tryin!’”.
For a band so often accused of being indie rock’s court jesters, this show proved that for once Pavement actually was trying – and it was brilliant.
Doug Wallen
(Pics: Tim O'Connor)