No One’s Gonna Make Me Rearrange

Pavement @ Rumsey Playfield, Central Park 9/22/2010

Heckler Spray / In The Mouth A Desert / Perfume-V / Trigger Cut / Unfair / Range Life / Starlings Of The Slipstream / Spizzle Trunk / Shady Lane / Fight This Generation / Summer Babe / Cut Your Hair / Kennel District / Gold Soundz / Zurich Is Stained / Stereo / [break while lightning storm clears the field] / The Hexx / Two States / Spit On A Stranger / Grounded / Silent Kid / Father To A Sister Of Thought / Stop Breathin’ / Date With IKEA / Feed ‘Em To The Lions (Linden) / Here // Conduit For Sale!

It had to rain at one of these shows, right? There was a thunder and lightning storm through the majority of this set, necessitating a 8-10 minute break after “Stereo” to let the storm pass over the park area. This was obviously not optimal conditions for the show, but it was a bonding experience for the audience, and only emboldened people’s enthusiasms. You don’t wait an entire year, eleven years, or your whole life to get put off by a bit of rain, right? The band was in good form — not as spectacular as the previous night, but still more or less in the zone. “The Hexx” and “Zurich Is Stained” were my personal highlights, though I think the most memorable moments came during major crowd-pleasers like “Stereo,” “Here”, and the triumphant, defiant version of “Conduit For Sale!” that closed out the night.

Pavement “Conduit For Sale!” [Live in London, 12/14/1992]

“Conduit” has always been one of Pavement’s great live songs. It’s one of the few that inspires a lot of thrashing about, and the only one that allows a significant spotlight for every member of the band. I still have a very vivid memory of the first time I saw them play it when I was 17. I remember Bob stalking the stage as the song shifted into the “no one’s gonna save me, no one’s gonna make me rearrange” part, and Spiral was kinda shimmying, and Malkmus was manhandling his guitar and shouting wordless exclamations after each refrain. There’s such a strange and wonderful dynamic between these very, very specific personalities, and “Conduit For Sale!” is the ideal showcase. Last night, it was a surreal, vaguely violent catharsis. Playing “Here” and “Conduit” at the end was like Pavement’s version of ending the show on “We Will Rock You”/”We Are The Champions,” but in reverse order of sentiment.

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