Pavement

Fox Theater - April 15, 2010

Live Review by Adam McKibbin

On one hand, it seemed certain that Pavement’s reunion gig at Pomona’s cozy Fox Theater – their first U.S. show in over a decade – would be a crowning success.  They’ve amassed a spectacular amount of goodwill over the years and are firmly and deservedly entrenched as indie-rock royalty.  For presumably most people in the audience, it was probably a show they worried they’d never get to see – either a chance to see a legendary band that they were too young to catch the first time around or a chance to feel young again and reconnect with songs that defined moments or maybe even entire years of their lives.

But Pavement have burned through some goodwill before; by the time they parted ways by the end of the ‘90s, they had half-assed their way through enough shows to get people grumbling.  Part of their appeal, of course, was that they were sort of seemingly shambling and apathetic and a little above it all and… well, Pavement.  Granted, some of our other beloved bands have come back and acquitted themselves nicely; Dinosaur Jr have even made new music that’s great.  Still, when frontman Stephen Malkmus seemed less than enthusiastic in pre-tour interviews – giving off the vibe of eh, we might as well – it was hard to suppress a twinge of panic, however weird and unlikely it would have been to hear him say “We’re super stoked and the best of friends and we’re gonna go out there and crush it!”  And for those of us in Pomona:  what if they were just using us as a glorified sparring partner before getting on stage for the main event out at Coachella?

OK, enough with the feeble attempts at suspense.  They killed it – to the tune of a generous 31-song set.  As with their new best-of compilation, Quarantine the Past, there could have been endless quibbles with the track selection and the “one that got away” but, as with the CD, it was a pretty damn good representation, particularly a dynamite home stretch that will certainly go down as one of my favorite concert moments of 2010.  The double encore was a knockout punch and included some of my favorite Pavement songs – and, thus, favorite songs.  “Box Elder,” “Here,” “Stereo,” “Zurich is Stained.”  Et cetera.

“Polish” is anathema in the world of Pavement, and there was certainly still some roughness and spontaneity, but there was also an unmistakable sense that they were serious about living up to expectations.  Commitment goes a long way; when a middle-aged Bob Nastanovich hopped out with the mic to do his customary shouting, the sight and sound was a little incongruous at first.  By the second time, I wasn’t really thinking about it anymore. 

It took a few songs for the band to get their stage legs under them, and the set list was arranged in a manner that suggested that they knew this; opener “Silence Kit” is a great track, but they didn’t put any home runs in the early rotation. 

What was immediately striking was how happy the guys looked to be on stage; well, maybe Stephen Malkmus didn’t look overjoyed, but he also didn’t look like he was there by court order, and he impressed the crowd with some typically energetic and curious rock star moves, doing jumping jacks with his legs and that weird dead man hang where he slumps over his guitar.  Of course, he’s been used to big crowds in the meantime, as he’s been leading the Jicks and making well-received solo albums.  But the other guys do things like work at horse tracks (Nastanovich), tend bar (Mark Ibold) and pursue somewhat obscure solo careers (Spiral Stairs).  And absence has made hearts grow fonder, and legends grow – so the audiences on the reunion tour will be among the most ravenous they’ve ever seen.  Soak it up, gents.  It’s well-earned - and not just because of the past.