Seeing Pavement Live, finally...

Stephen Malkmus was the only artist I could think of in which I thought that their solo career was better than the band that made them famous. That thought may be in jeopardy now. Last night I saw Pavement, and they effing killed it. The highly anticipated reunion tour rolled through Boston's Agannis Arena and by all accounts, the band is playing better than they ever have.

They relied heavily on their first two albums which at first I wasn't that fond of (I like the last two albums best) but then I realized how good the songs were. Off kilter, lo-fi indie rock icons like “Summer Babe” and “Gold Soundz” converted to full on arena rockers executed with purpose and precision. The band threw in some instrumental deep tracks that provided fluidity to the set and generally abrasive album songs like “Conduit For Sale!!!” amped up the crowd to huge energetic proportions. As much as this tour may me a money maker, it is surely not gimmicky. Hype-man Bob Nastokovich's stage banter, unique backing vocals and solid percussion made sense to me finally and Spiral Stairs' rhythm guitar and pop sensibilities were a nice counter to Malkmus' free associative approach.

Highlights of the night for me was hearing the mellower “Stop Breathing” and “Here” attain a level of beauty I hadn't noticed before. The “Fin > Cut Your Hair” closer showcased the often regarded as sloppy band's ability to explore sounds and jams with preciseness. If you are a fan of Pavement I suggest you get to a show while you still can and see nostalgia come alive like you've never seen it before.

Jenny Lewis and her new “Jenny & Johnny” band with boyfriend Johnny McPinkShirt kicked off the evening with what sounded like their whole album front to back. The only old track was "Next Messiah" which would have been good except for Johnny's distorted, treble heavy acoustic guitar sound. If Rilo Kiley (Take-offs and Landings/Execution of all things era) is a 10, this current incarnation of Lewis is a 3, tops.

Pavement: Silence Kit, Starlings of the Slipstream, Two States, Trigger Cut, In the Mouth a Desert, Stereo, Date w/ Ikea, Stop Breathin, Gold Soundz, Conduit for Sale!, Loretta's Scars, Grounded, Summer Babe, Frontwards, Unfair, Chesley's Little Wrists, Heckler Spray, Fight This Generation, Perfume-V, We Dance, Brinx Job, Fin > Cut Your Hair
Encore: Rattled by the Rush, Kennel District, Range Life
Encore 2: Spit on a Stranger, Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse), Here

Jenny & Johnny: Scissor Runner, Committed, My Pet Snake, Just Like Zeus, Straight Edge of the Blade, Slavedriver, Just One of the Guys, Big Wave, Animal, The Next Messiah

Opener/s: Jenny & Johnny
Venue Info:
beer sitch: $7 bucks for harpoon IPA, $6 for Bud or Bud Light. Plastic pint cups.
parking: There are a couple garages around the arena that charge $20 I think. But there is plenty of street parking south of Comm Ave if you don't mind walking a couple blocks.
Capacity: 7,200. The seats at either end of the arena were blocked off so it was probably more like 5,000 or so. The show was technically not sold out but the seats looked filled.