Pavement - Brixton Academy

As a massive fan of Pavement, I was always going to attend one of their 4 Brixton Academy shows - but I was doing some with some trepidation. Given the band have been very open about the fact they are reforming for the money - percussionist Bob Bob Nastanovich needs to pay off serious gambling debts being the main reason frontman Stephen Malkmus finally agreed to the reunion - I was expecting a nostalgia spectacle of old bald fat dudes trashing their own history.

So it was a fantastic pleasure to report Pavement was absolutely on-fire, as good as I remember seeing them in their prime 'Crooked Rain' days at The Price of Wales Hotel in Melbourne.

Kicking off with "Frontwards", things really got cooking with "Summer Babe" that led into a run of songs so fantastic that I literally lost track of time. The setlist doesn't even begin to do justice to how great Pavement sounded: "Gold Soundz", "Trigger Cut", "In The Mouth of A Desert", "Spit on A Stranger", "Perfume V", to a mass crowd sing-along for "Shady Lane".

As with the Pavement of the passed there was some mid-set noodling with slower material like "Loretta's Scars" stretched out longer than was probably necessary. There was also a mid-song breakdown in "In the Mouth A Desert" which reminded me of the old Pavement shows: walking the tight-rope between mesmerising and disaster.

Frontman Steve Malkmus was in amazing form, ambling to the mic as if he just awoke from a nap and suddenly found himself on stage. He also delivered a touching tribute to the late (great) John Peel, explaining how he - and The Wedding Present who covered "Box Elder" on one of their early singles - really gave them the break that got them where they are today. The main set ended with a great version of "Here".

First encore saw the band joined by John Bennet (once of The High Llamas) for second guitar on "Range Life", before a crowd pleased "Stereo". The remaining encores ended on a low-key note with "Father to a Sister of Thought" and "Stop Breathin'" before the show closed with "Conduit For Sale!".

1. Frontwards
2. Summer Babe
3. Date With IKEA
4. Gold Soundz
5. Trigger Cut
6. In The Mouth A Desert
7. Spit on a Stranger
8. Perfume-V
9. Shady Lane
10. Unfair
11. Loretta's Scars
12. Fight This Generation
13. Silence Kit
14. Grounded
15. Debris Slide
16. The Hexx
17. Lions (Linden)
18. Two States
19. Cut Your Hair
20. Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)
21. Box Elder
22. Kennel District
23. Here
Encore:
24. Range Life
25. Stereo
26. Fin
Encore 2:
27. Father to a Sister of Thought
28. Stop Breathin'
29. Conduit For Sale!

She & Him - Koko, London

Went along with my buddy Malthe to check out Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward as She & Him.
It was a pretty good show with Zooey bouncing around the stage like a beach-ball while M.Ward plays the role of showy band-leader. They are backed by a tight band of rhythm guitar (who also jumped on occasional keyboards), bass, drums, and support act The Chapin Sisters providing angelic backing vocals.
The show drew heavily from the just-released 'Volume Two' but also managed to include a few of the best tracks from 'Volume One'.
Highlight from me was a mid-set bracket, with Zooey accompanied only by M.Ward on acoustic guitar, that included their excellent cover of "You Really Got a Hold on Me".

With the full band returning for a rousing version of current single"In The Sun". Another surprise inclusion was a rocking rendition of "Magic Trick" from M.Wards 'Post War' album.
After a good 45 min show, the band returned for a two-song encore that concluded with a cover of "Roll Over Beethoven" (which M.Ward also included in his set when I saw him last June)
Less impressive was the second encore cover of "I Put A Spell On You" but a pretty good show regardless.