PIXIES - P40 - Celebrating 40 Years
Forty years of volume: The PIXIES celebrate their anniversary with a world tour
Four decades is a long time, yet the PIXIES, this rebellious band from Boston, seem to have repeatedly escaped the gravity of history. Their own story begins in 1986 with an unremarkable newspaper ad: Charles Thompson, better known as Black Francis, and guitarist Joey Santiago are looking for a bassist who appreciates Hüsker Dü as much as Peter, Paul and Mary. Kim Deal responds – without a bass, without experience, but with an attitude that would shape the sound of the coming years. Along with drummer David Lovering, they form a band whose name is randomly pulled from the dictionary: PIXIES. Only a few months pass from their first rehearsals in Lovering's garage to the first release "Come On Pilgrim." Soon, the PIXIES sound like nothing that has come before: surreal, loud, aggressive, yet at the same time filled with strangely beautiful melodies. "Surfer Rosa" and especially "Doolittle" make them pioneers of a new rock aesthetic by the end of the eighties, whose influence remains unmistakable. Kurt Cobain later admitted that he simply tried to copy the PIXIES on "Smells Like Teen Spirit." But what makes the band so extraordinary – the fragile balance between Francis's eruptive songwriting, Santiago's jagged riffs, and Deal's distinctive vocal lines – also threatens to tear them apart. In 1993, it ends, the PIXIES break up. A shock for many fans, a necessary break for the musicians. When they reunite in 2004, the astonishment is great: the band plays bigger than ever before, garnering enthusiasm from both old and new generations and initiating a second creative phase. Since then, new albums have been released and tours follow in quick succession.
Above all, live, the band remains an event. From the early, chaotic club shows in which they shattered rock conventions to today’s festivals: the PIXIES have redefined the live experience. No anecdotes, no small talk, but a concentrated force of song after song, a sound that is both rough and precise. This is not about nostalgia but about immediate intensity. With the "P40 - Celebrating 40 Years" tour, the band will celebrate their anniversary in 2026. After stops in the UK and all over Europe, three dates in Germany have also been confirmed. In the summer of 2026, the PIXIES will show why they still belong to the most important bands of the present after four decades.
Doors: 6:30 PM
Hallo, ich bin Maya.
