Pavement – Greek Theatre, Berkeley, CA – June 25, 2010

There were rumors for years that Pavement would reunite. Those rumors finally manifested into the most anticipated reunion of 2010. The 90s indie band started a world tour in March. The first half of tour was mostly spent in Australia, Japan, and Europe. On Friday, June 25, Pavement took the stage at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, CA.

The show began with four of their most popular songs – “Cut Your Hair,” “Frontwards,” “Gold Soundz,” and “Stereo” – and then Malkmus asked, “Those were all bangers, huh?” That didn’t stop the band from letting up as they played a total of 26 songs this evening, including most of the tracks from the recent compilation Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement.

One of my friends was hesitant about the Pavement reunion shows. He felt that one of the band’s best qualities was its sloppiness. He didn’t want to hear what it sounds like when they learn how to play the songs better than they originally had. The reunited band was tight, but loose enough to not sound overly polished. There were a few false starts to songs, or as Malkmus called them, “fake mistakes.” They were prepared but played with the boundless energy that every group should take on stage. The band – and the audience that waited 10 years for this show – truly enjoyed themselves.

I’ve had the chance to see Stephen Malkmus perform live, once with the Jicks and once mostly solo. With Pavement, he was a little more uninhibited. Bassist Mark Ibold stood center stage, flanked by the guitarists – Malkmus and Spiral Stairs. Behind them, Steve West kept the beat while Bob Nastanovich scampered from the second set of drums to second vocals with the occasional supplement of synth, tambourine, and harmonica.

Gary Young, the original Pavement drummer, wandered onto the stage a few times during the show. One minute he was talking to Nastanovich, the next he was handing Malkmus a bottle of Scope. Finally, for the end of the main set, Young took the sticks and supported the band on “Trigger Cut” and “Box Elder.” When the band came out for their encore, Young was again behind the drum set as they played 4 more early songs.

The band played songs from all 5 of their releases. With the addition of Gary Young on drums, they played more songs from their earliest albums. Here’s the full setlist:

1. Cut Your Hair
2. Frontwards
3. Gold Soundz
4. Stereo
5. Zurich Is Stained
6 Rattled by the Rush
7 Unfair
8 Silence Kid
9 Kennel District
10 Grounded
11 Range Life
12 Shady Lane
13 Date w/ Ikea
14 Spit on a Stranger
15 The Hexx
16 We Dance
17 Elevate Me Later
18 In the Mouth a Desert
19 Starlings of the Slipstream
20 Stop Breathin’
21 Trigger Cut (with Gary Young)
22 Box Elder (with Gary Young)

Encore:
23 Lions (Linden) (with Gary Young)
24 Two States (with Gary Young)
25 Summer Babe (with Gary Young)
26 Here (with Gary Young)

Comments

[The Wheel's Still In Spin]

After reading some other reviews of this show, there were a few lines that I really liked.
From bohemian.com:

As for Malkmus himself, the rakish surrealist was sight to behold, owning his past by playing his guitars in the weirdest diagonal ways and nailing the spirit of songs that the not-quite-sold-out crowd sung along to, loudly: “Range Life,” “Gold Soundz,” “The Hexx.”

And from Arevalo's Sketches:

Taking a spot on the far right field, high above the theater in the grass, we watched the full glory of a soft lit night and a pumped up band truly playing live, alive, and finding those notes again like they were hidden $100 bills in old pockets.

Pockets from the '90s. Pockets where there were good things.