Paveement
Irving Plaza, New York (June 16, 1999)
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Pavement
Irving Plaza, New York
June 16, 1999 |
Taking the stage for their first of three sold-out shows at New York City's Irving Plaza, frontman Stephen Malkmus and his cohorts set out to defend their latest effort, Terror Twilight, while satisfying the Slanted And Enchanted faithful.
They opened up with an upbeat version of Slanted's "Here," before launching into "Cream of Gold," the psychedelic sing along "Billie" and the heartfelt "Major Leagues," all off Terror. The rest of the evening followed this basic recipe, as the band played an old favorite such as "Box Elder MO" to appease the crowd, before launching into the dense, flawless, and much more exciting songs of Twilight.
In the past, Malkmus would turn his back to the audience mid-song, in what many fans saw as usual Malkmus contempt. But this time around it wasn't like that. In fact the lead guitarist came off as charming and even happy. When he turned inwards to face his mates, it was obvious that he was trying to concentrate on the music and not some sort of premeditated attitude.
The band blasted through rockers like "Stereo," and "Summer Babe," then eased into the gentle sway of "Anne Don't Cry," and "Spit on a Stranger." But the highlight of the show was "Speak, See, Remember," which was enough to send any Terror Twilight doubter into convulsions.
Pavement's ability to build a song from what seems like scratch and turn it into a musical dinosaur almost makes one wish they would sacrifice the obligatory "Gold Soundz" encore to play the more recent material. The jazzy pop opening of "Speak" created the perfect backdrop for the Built to Spill-meets-Black Sabbath breakdown, which perfectly displayed why Pavement is the best rock band in America.
They closed the show with a Creedence-like cover of the Fall's "Bend Sinister," proving that regardless of the set list, Pavement are at their absolute best.
MARK GROESCHNER | Mark Groeschner is the creator of the late, great satirical Web site Public Nigmity. When not soothing the nerves of his pudgy cat Yoda or harassing people from afar on the Internet, he works for the commercial/video production company Brand New School.