It was hot in Rogers, Arkansas when the Pixies, Modest Mouse and Cat Power came to town. It was the second to last date of the North American tour and every band put in all the stops for North West Arkansas regardless how hot the day was. As Modest Mouse broke into their first song, “The Stars Are Projectors”, the band stopped shortly after due to someone suffering from possible heat exhaustion. As soon as everything looked clear, Modest Mouse started back up, but clearly it was hot even as the sun went down. Make no mistake, the energy Modest Mouse brings to their live set is pretty expotential, to which if this was in a small venue it would feel like a punk show. Singer Isaac Brock is a unique front person for he is always belting out the lyrics and rallying up the crowd. One would not expect this from Modest Mouse, per their music, but don’t let their recordings dissuade you from their live show.

This year also marked the 20th anniversary of their biggest selling album Good News for People Who Love Bad News which received a deluxe edition release on vinyl. Even though this wasn’t a play through album tour, from their 14-song set, they paid their respects to the album by playing five songs from the album. The rest of their set featured at least a few songs from their other albums along with a cover from The Cure, “A Forest”. Heat aside, Modest Mouse didn’t let that hinder their performance and if anything, it may have heighten them to put on maybe one the best sets of the tour.

The Pixies, dare I say, are a legendary band. Even before they reformed in 2004, they were regarded as one of those bands that burned out too soon. My personal introduction to the band wasn’t through their actual performance of songs, but through other bands covering them. I was going into high school in 2000 and my musical taste was starting to truly form. Some of my favorite albums to buy at that time were compilation albums because they were usually cheap and the best way to discover new bands. One compilation that I bought was Where Is My Mind? A Tribute to the Pixies, not because of the Pixies, but because bands I liked were on the album like Weezer, The Get Up Kids, Reel Big Fish, Samiam, and Eve 6. However, even though those rendition were great, I had to find out why this band the Pixies was such an influence on all these bands. The only album my local record store had at the time was Doolittle, and well, one listen and it became clear why the Pixies are such an influential band to other bands.

The Pixies busted into their set with no introduction and kick off their set withe older songs prior to their break up. Through out their set, Doolittle was showcased the most which clearly had the best reception from the crowd like when “Hey” was performed, the crowd was singing louder than Black Francis. Throughout the rest of their set they touched on a lot of songs from their catalog prior to their break up except “Death Horizon” from Beneath the Eyrie. Was surprising not to hear their latest single “You’re So Impatient” which would’ve been be great to hear those crunchy guitars in the beginning live. Maybe it is a song for the next tour or maybe for a new album? One can hope, but of course closing their set was “Where Is My Mind?” and the Neil Young cover “Winterlong” which seems to be a staple ending to their as the band comes together and takes a bow in from of the audience. With a new single out and another tour ending, it seems like Pixies have more to give to the world and their fans. Here is to 2025 bringing more new music from the Pixies and continuing influencing bands still.