Cult-hero-alt-rock pioneers, the Pixies, will bring their mammoth ‘Come On Pilgrim… It’s Surfer Rosa’ world tour to Australia and New Zealand in 2020. Celebrating the band’s bold entrance - 1987's Come On Pilgrim EP, followed swiftly by 1988’s debut full-length LP Surfer Rosa - the albums will be played in their entirety, along with new and old tracks spanning an extensive three-decade catalogue.
The Pixies arrived more or less fully-formed, holding the blueprint for alt-rock, years ahead of the 90s grunge explosion. Come On Pilgrim harnessed the power of squealing, jagged avant-garde guitar leads, stop-start beats, lush, radiant harmonies, alternately howled and hushed, bilingual lyrics, with a weakness for pop melodies and twisted themes. Shorter than an album, longer than an EP, the release was an effortless crossover of DIY punk and surf rock that contained many songs still considered classics in the band's seminal catalogue, such as “Caribou” and “Nimrod’s Son”.
Pixies | “Caribou” [Live]
Riding the Come On Pilgrim hype wave, the Pixies cemented their cult-icon status with 1988’s electrifying debut LP, Surfer Rosa. Shrieking, loved-up, demonic and playful; a tapestry of perverse impressionism, equally heavy and clear, epitomizing the punch of producer, Steve Albini’s now-legendary live-in-the-room recoding approach. The instantaneous, in-your-face opener, “Bone Machine”, the jarringly carefree “Tony’s Theme”, Kim Deal’s centrepiece “Gigantic” and of course the album’s masterstroke, “Where Is My Mind”, all bear the hallmark of Albini’s obsession with luminous natural reverb.
Pixies | “Gigantic” [Live]
Now, the rock luminaries have just announced Down Under dates on their mammoth 2020 world tour. Pixies fans will get the opportunity to catch the punk rock legends perform their two debut releases in full, as well as new tracks from their forthcoming eighth LP (their first in three years), Beneath The Eyrie due out September 13th.
The upcoming Aussie tour will mark the band’s fourth visit to Australia in their three-decade career, and while Pixies purists may mourn the absence of founding bassist Kim Deal, early classics like "Bone Machine", "Vamos" and "Broken Face" will lack none of Santiago’s neurotic, single-noted forays, Francis’ foam-mouthed fetishism and Lovering’s thundering drums, sure to be complemented by Deal’s replacement, Paz Lenchantin.
Pixies will play four headline shows in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney & Perth in March 2020, following the release of Beneath The Eyrie this September. Sydney-siders will be treated to a momentous, not-to-be-missed, show under the stars at Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Saturday, March 14. Tickets for all shows go on sale at 1pm Thursday, August 8. Don’t miss the chance to witness stylized chaos in all its glory - dates and details below!
Come On Pilgrim… It’s Surfer Rosa 2020 Tour Dates
Tuesday, 10th March 2020
Palais Theatre | Melbourne
Tickets: Live Nation
Friday, 13th March 2020
Fortitude Hall | Brisbane
Tickets: Live Nation
Saturday, 14th March 2020
Sydney Opera House Forecourt | Sydney
Tickets: Live Nation
Tuesday, 17th March 2020
Fremantle Arts Centre | Perth
Tickets: Live Nation
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