The Breeders
11th December 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
The 90’s were one of those unforgettable decades, the fashion trends, the meteoric rise of pop culture and teen movies that soon became stock standard favs highlights throughout.
For those that travelled the more alternative route it was also the decade of some of the most iconic albums ever, REM’s Out of Time, Faith No More’s Angel Dust, The Afghan Whigs Gentlemen … and who didn’t have a copy of Radiohead’s The Bends or The Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream tucked away? But there was another album that captured the hearts and minds of music fans across the world; Last Splash by The Breeders. The sophomore album catapulted The Breeders into the music collections of alt-rockers world-wide, the record certified platinum within a year of its release.
The chance to see the original The Breeders line-up from that album play live was an opportunity that was not to be missed it would seem as a sold out Powerstation heaved under the weight of collective memories and stolen moments of recaptured youth. The Beths did a fine job of warming everyone up with a set that included tracks off their debut album Future Hates Me such as ‘Uptown Girl’ and set closer ‘Little Death’; their guitar driven indie-pop serving up a whole lot of goodness before the main act.
Fans could have been forgiven for thinking they must have stumbled into a time warp as the stage lights dipped low and the familiar thick bass notes of the Bauhaus ‘Bela Lugosi is Dead’ stalked the stage, Peter Murphy himself having traipsed across the very same floorboards only a couple of months ago. But this was The Breeders time to shine, the four members getting into position before a beaming Kim Deal greeted the audience and jumped straight into ‘Saints’, the crowd pogoing with the sheer joy of the moment.
Surround by an array of guitars and pedals the Deal sisters shone with an inner glow; despite having been on tour for most of the year Kim and Kelley were still having the time of their lives, their casual demeanour and natural connection to one another making the crowd feel as if they were hanging out at a jam session. In stark contrast, bassist Josephine Wiggs was shrouded in straight out stone cold cool, her piercing eyes scanning the crowd before coming to rest on an individual member as her hands drew the notes with deliberate intent. Behind them all Jim Macpherson on drums, the other three members positioned in such a way that the audience had a straight view through to his emphatic stick wielding.
‘No Aloha’ – the line of ‘Motherhood means mental freeze’ resonating with many of the now parents in the crowd – was quickly followed by the glistening peppiness of ‘Divine Hammer’, The Breeders then fast forwarding twenty-five years to drop the title track from their latest album (featuring the same personnel line-up as The Last Splash) ‘All Nerve’. It slotted in perfectly, Kim Deal’s voice still as sultry and fur-lined as ever, with just the right amount of angst spiking through when called for. From the sinister undercurrents of ‘Walking with a Killer’ the show time machined backwards again to ‘I Just Wanna Get Along’, the way the tracks seamlessly led into one another proof that the reformation of this line-up is better than sliced bread.
And then there it was. Anyone that says they weren’t waiting for it should have checked their pants for scorch marks, because as the opening notes of ‘Cannonball’ rang out, the venue suddenly got larger, the Deal sisters obviously pleased with the reaction of the audience as their smiles became wider.
And we were only halfway through the show!
Imitating a violin in the most unique way possible as only Kelley Deal could the Ed’s Redeeming Qualities cover of ‘Drivin’ on 9’ went down a treat, the fans joining in at Kelley’s request. Fast paced ‘S.O.S’ once again saw the crowd bounce, the semaphore electric guitar riff that was later sampled by none other than The Prodigy themselves seeing heads been shaken like rattles in time to it.
But when Kim announced it was time for Josephine Wiggs to sing, all eyes turned to the right of the stage, the brooding distortion of ‘MetaGoth’ fitting her like a glove, and she wore.it.well.
While each member of the band has at some point or another featured in a side-project, Kim Deal has the pedigree of being the original bassist for The Pixies to her name; so imagine the audiences delight when ‘Gigantic’ was pulled out of the hat as the set closer. The first single The Pixies ever released, the song was co-written by both Kim Deal and Black Francis, Deal’s unmistakable mark stamped all over it.
An encore that included both the offbeat ‘Do You Love Me Now?’ and a trip back to where it all started from with ‘Iris’ from The Breeders first album Pod left the fans well and truly sated; a twenty-five track set list feeling like Christmas had come just that little bit earlier.
The Breeders have still got it, but then again, they never really lost it.
Were you there at the Powerstation for this magnificent grunge rock show? Or have you seen The Breeders perform live somewhere else? Tell us about it in the comments below!
The Breeders Setlist:
- Saints
- Wait In The Car
- No Aloha
- Divine Hammer
- All Nerve
- Invisible Man
- Fortunately Gone
- Walking With A Killer
- Glorious
- I Just Wanna Get Along
- Safari
- New Year
- Cannonball
- Bang On
- Howl At The Summit
- Drivin On 9 [Ed’s Redeeming Qualities cover]
- Off You
- Spacewoman
- S.O.S
- Nervous Mary
- MetaGoth
- Gigantic [The Pixies cover]
- Do You Love Me Now? [encore]
- When I Was A Painter [encore]
- Iris [encore]
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by clicking the red button below (Desktop) or visiting our PressPatron page (Mobile).
Awww Sarah you summed it up again! Well done!