It was fair to wonder when the Pavement went on hiatus after touring in support of their final album Terror Twilight if fans would ever get to see them live again.
It took a number of years, with band members scattered across the country and participating in multiple new projects, but the band have begun performing live again. Although time has passed, the group easily capture the slacker majesty of their heyday as kings of the '90s indie scene.
If the band and audience are a little bit grayer these days, that's OK too. Indeed, a surprising number of people in the audience at a Pavement show are likely far too young to have seen them the first time around and appear to be there to take in the experience as new, rather than relive past glories. The band's sprawling, two hours-plus setlist leaves no one disappointed.
Mercurial frontman Steve Malkmus (whose departure for a solo career shelved the band originally) seems especially energized at these shows, bantering with the audience and belting out should-have-been hits like “Cut Your Hair” and “Stereo” with surprising and obvious joy.
The band's once loose sound has been tightened up considerably, as well. That being said, when the group kicks in to the shambolic, shaggy genius of “Summer Babe” (usually reserved for the encore), they still play fast, loud and jagged and demonstrate why they remain one of the most exciting groups of the past twenty years.
Jo Dee Messina
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