The Pixies’ 20th anniversary Doolittle tour — which hits Europe in October and the United States in November — will extend into 2010, as the band this week announced six March dates in Australia and New Zealand.
Of course, by the time Black Francis and Co. open those concerts with the band’s first-ever New Zealand gig in Auckland on March 12, it’ll be time to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bossanova instead. Nevertheless, the Pixies are committed to celebrating 1989’s classic Doolittle, which Francis recently told Rolling Stone he immediately realized was “something special” after recording the album’s initial demos.
The frontman also defended the Pixies’ decision to do the full-album tour:
“We weren’t even planning on doing it this year. We got a call to open for Neil Young at the Isle of Wight, and as soon as we said yes to that gig, the phone wouldn’t stop ringing. We wanted to do some more shows, and it was a coincidence that it was the 20th anniversary of Doolittle and also that Minotaur was coming out. Someone said, ‘Hey, let’s do a Doolittle show!’ We were kinda hesitant. We’re a little sensitive about milking the reunion thing to death. We don’t want to be seen as taking advantage of all the good will. At the same time, we are in show business and it is our right to go play — at county fairs if we want to.”
In the interview, Francis also notes that the Pixies have been playing most of Doolittle since first reuniting in 2004; the only song from that album the band never has played live is “Silver.” The band also hasn’t performed “There Goes My Gun” in “like 14 years,” he said.
Recreating the album on stage won’t be difficult, Francis said:
“It’s not Sgt. Pepper. Two guitars, bass and drums will suffice. Kim is the quality control. She goes, ‘No, no, no — you don’t strum it like that, you strum it like this.’ She’s very persnickety. Which is a delight. It relieves the rest of us from having to do that.”
Read the full Rolling Stone interview here.
See the Pixies’ Australia/New Zealand tour dates after the jump…
Pixies tour dates:
March 12: Vector Arena, Auckland, New Zealand
March 14: Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, Australia
March 18: Convention Centre, Brisbane, Australia
March 20: Festival Hall, Melbourne, Australia
March 24: Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide, Australia
March 27: Belvoir Amphitheatre, Perth, Australia
PREVIOUSLY ON SLICING UP EYEBALLS:
- Pixies tour dates: ‘Doolittle’ anniversary trek coming to U.S. in November
- Bauhaus, Pixies, The Fall up for ‘Omnibus’ reissues from new Beggars Archive imprint
- Breeders touring North America this August between Kim Deal’s Pixies treks
- Pixies’ ‘Doolittle’ tour coming to U.S. this fall
- Tour dates: Pixies to play ‘Doolittle’ at 20th anniversary concerts in Europe
- Pixies’ Black Francis plots solo-acoustic shows, Grand Duchy dates this summer
- Pixies roar back to life with Stockholm, Isle of Wight gigs, plus ‘Minotaur’ box set
I saw the first Doolittle tour and I can’t wait to see this one .. in fact I am listening to it right now. Please come back to Houston guys .. I will take you out to dinner again.