You Bet I’ll Be There

The Breeders @ Webster Hall 12/19/2013
New Year / Cannonball / Invisible Man / No Aloha / Roi / Do You Love Me Now? / Flipside / I Just Wanna Get Along / Mad Lucas / Divine Hammer / S.O.S. / Hag / Saints / Drivin’ on 9 / Roi Reprise / Glorious / Doe / Happiness Is A Warm Gun / Oh! / Hellbound / When I Was A Painter / Fortunately Gone / Iris / Opened / Only In 3’s / Lime House / Metal Man // Walking With A Killer

The Breeders “Saints” (Live in Stockholm, 1993)

I find it kinda weird to watch bands play albums in order – I get the appeal from a marketing standpoint, but it generally goes against the dynamics and pacing that work best for concerts. I do think that Last Splash has a general flow that worked well on stage, but it is very strange to watch a band play their biggest hit one song into a 28 song setlist, and for this very climactic jam song to come five songs in. I’m also not sure why they chose to play Last Splash and then Pod – wouldn’t you want to play them in chronological order, and make the audience wait a bit for the more popular record? And what about all the great Breeders song from after 1993?

But aside from that, this was a terrific show. I hadn’t ever seen The Breeders before but I have seen the reunited Pixies, so it was nice to just see Kim Deal again – she’s got such a pleasant energy on stage. She always seems like she’s having fun up there, and her relaxed, unpretentious vibe deflated anything that’s either pompous or crass about playing your first two albums in full 20+ years after their release. The show was presented as a “celebration,” and it was, albeit in a very low key “hey, cool” sort of way.

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