A Rainy Night in Central Park with Pavement

(Pavement @ Virgin FreeFest 2010, additional set photos here)

We reported about seeing Pavement in New York's Central Park during a thunder/lightning storm last week (read it here). My phone was all wonky for a few hour after as I tried to tweet the setlist during the downpour, so I'm shocked someone was able to get any video, but somehow, someone did. Sadly, there is only a minute's worth of "Stereo," a song which, for me, was the highlight (and the last one before they stopped the show due to the lightning). Of it, we said:

The song that had the entire audience pogoing in unison during the chorus and generally losing its collective mind? "Stereo" from Brighten the Corners. It was a white hot version too. Lead singer Stephen Malkmus literally ripped into it; I saw him look up, see the lightning streak across the sky and literally, with his entire body, rip that opening piece with a definite ferocity which kept up the whole song. Almost as if to say, "If this is the last song, it's gonna be badass."

A snippet of "Stereo." (You also get a feeling for how hard it was raining. They stopped the show right after this.)


The first song of the night, before the rain started, "In the Mouth A Desert":


"Trigger Cut/Unfair":


"Starlings on the Slipstream"/"Our Singer":


"Zurich is Strained" (includes one of their usual blown starts):


"Father to a Sister of a Thought":

Stephen Malkmus Interviewed on The Colbert Report, Pavement Plays

I was getting ready to go to NYC to see Pavement when this aired, so sorry for the delay. First thing I thought was wow, how uncomfortable does lead singer Stephen Malkmus look here? But "Gold Soundz" was pretty solid...maybe Malkmus just doesn't care for interviews?

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Pavement
www.colbertnation.com

Pavement playing "Gold Soundz" on the Colbert Report

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Pavement - Gold Soundz
www.colbertnation.com

Lights That Flash in the Evening: Pavement @ Central Park Summerstage (9-22-2010)

Yes, I was one of those damn fools who bought tickets for the Pavement shows at the Central Park Summerstage a year ago. Thought about selling them over the course of the year because it was a Wednesday and required a Bolt Bus ride mid-work week, but in the end, after seeing a few setlists, my friend and I decided there was no way we could miss this.

I tried hard to tweet the setlist but it proved difficult for two reasons: one, I have a hard time remembering Pavement's song titles, primarily because they're usually so far removed from the song's words, and two, it started to sprinkle early on, then pour rain about seven songs in. Pour hard. Like pour a bucket of water/soak through to your bones pouring rain. Shortly thereafter the thunder and streak-lighting started. Nothing like being outside in the middle of a huge open park like Central Park in the middle of a thunder and lightning storm. But it just didn't matter to anyone; we'd waited a year for this and no one was going anywhere.

The show was typically live Pavement: flubbed intros, starting songs over and such. But they sounded strong and solid, and appeared to be having as much fun onstage as we were having in the audience. Bassist Mark Ibold watched the crowd get pelted by rain and not even caring almost in awe, and the band repeatedly said how grateful they were to everyone for sticking it out. The show was stopped about half way through for a good 20 minutes because of the lightning, but upon the return, they ran through the rest pretty rapidly. It really didn't seem that way, but they must have because based on the setlist above, we only missed a couple songs.

The song that had the entire audience pogoing in unison during the chorus and generally losing its collective mind? "Stereo" from Brighten the Corners. It was a white hot version too. Lead singer Stephen Malkmus literally ripped into it; I saw him look up, see the lightning streak across the sky and literally, with his entire body, rip that opening piece with a definite ferocity which kept up the whole song. Almost as if to say, "If this is the last song, it's gonna be badass." And though it took a good 24 hours for my clothing to dry, Wednesday's Pavement show in Central Park most definitely was.

A Good High This Year: Set List from Pavement Show in LA (4-15-2010)

So Justin over at Aquarium Drunkard knows how to make a day start off awesome. He and I are Facebook buddies and I happened to see he posted this today, the set list from last night's Pavement show at the Fox Theater.



Holy hell fire, lookit all that! I scored Wednesday tickets for their NYC shows in September and was wondering,"Dang, do I really want to go to NYC mid-week, miss work, blahblah?" Based on this list, I believe the answer is "Oh hell yes."

See the rest of the dates here.

Pavement's Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement Out 3/9, Includes Different Limited Edition Vinyl Version

Pavement's reunion this year has made fans all a flutter. 3/9 will bring another thrill in the form of a fully remastered 23-track compilation called Quarantine The Past: The Best Of Pavement. The compilation will span the entirety of Pavement’s career from 1989 to 1999. Matador is offering a 15% discount on it if you preorder from them.

Matador is also reissuing of all five of their Pavement releases, including the Watery, Domestic EP.

Track List for Quarantine the Past
1. Gold Soundz (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
2. Frontwards (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
3. Mellow Jazz Docent (PERFECT SOUND FOREVER EP)
4. Stereo (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
5. In The Mouth A Desert (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
6. Two States (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
7. Cut Your Hair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
8. Shady Lane / J Vs. S (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
9. Here (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
10. Unfair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
11. Grounded (WOWEE ZOWEE)
12. Summer Babe (Winter Version) (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
13. Range Life (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
14. Date w/ IKEA (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
15. Debris Slide (PERFECT SOUND FOREVER EP)
16. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
17. Spit On A Stranger (TERROR TWILIGHT)
18. Heaven Is a Truck (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
19. Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (SLANTED & ENCHANTED)
20. Embassy Row (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
21. Box Elder (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)
22. Unseen Power Of The Picket Fence (NO ALTERNATIVE COMP)
23. Fight This Generation (WOWEE ZOWEE)

Give a Listen: Gold Soundz-Pavement (remastered version) (available 3/9)

Pavement held a contest for "most imaginative track sequence" awhile back, and the winning list will appear only on a limited-edition double vinyl LP. This different release come out on Record Store Day, 4/17. The silkscreen cover art may have some resemblance to the image above – the band are customizing it themselves.

Track List for Limited Edition of Quarantine the Past
1. Zurich Is Stained (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
2. Trigger Cut/Wounded-Kite At :17 (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
3. Grave Architecture (WOWEE ZOWEE)
4. Unfair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
5. …And Carrot Rope (TERROR TWILIGHT)
6. Shady Lane / J Vs. S (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
7. Two States (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
8. Fame Throwa (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
9. Cut Your Hair (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
10. Here (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
11. Extradition (WOWEE ZOWEE)
12. Stereo (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
13. The Hexx (TERROR TWILIGHT)
14. Shoot The Singer (1 Sick Verse) (WATERY, DOMESTIC EP)
15. Kennel District (WOWEE ZOWEE)
16. Price Yeah! (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)
17. No Life Singed Her (SLANTED AND ENCHANTED)
18. Stop Breathin’ (CROOKED RAIN, CROOKED RAIN)
19. Type Slowly (Live) (TIBET FREEDOM CONCERT COMP)
20. Fin (BRIGHTEN THE CORNERS)
21. Forklift (DEMOLITION PLOT J-7 EP)
22. Fight This Generation (WOWEE ZOWEE)
23. Box Elder (SLAY TRACKS 1933-1969 EP)

Coachella Lineup Announced Today

A rather hefty lineup was announced today for this year's Coachella Festival. But so was last year (Leonard Cohen) headlined, cmon...), so how do you follow it up? Apparently you do it with the first United States show of the Pavement reunion tour, Public Image Ltd, Spoon, and Thom Yorke with question marks, among others. Wait, Thom Yorke and question marks, what's that about? Apparently it isn't meant to imply anything potentially possible, like a special guest, it's just sort of a band name.

(Yorke) intends to perform with the same backing band he assembled for a handful of Los Angeles dates last fall— Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, producer Nigel Godrich, and seasoned session hands Joey Waronker and Mauro Refosco. Yorke never got around to naming the new band back then, resulting in some mysterious marquee displays around L.A., and now he’s decided to stick with the same question marks to indicate those guys’ presence. (Source)

Coachella will be held from 4/16-4/18 at the Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA. Tickets go onsale here this Friday (1/22) at 10 AM PST (or 1 PM for you east coasters).

Pavment to Kick Off Consecutive Reunion Tour Dates in Australia; Onsale This Friday

In true fashion up to this point, Pavement announced the first eight dates of their world reunion tour today, which will kick off next year in 2010. And the onsale for the Australian segment is oh, this Friday, 10/23 (9:00 AM Australia time), a mere five months in advance.

Does anyone else think they're just trying to drive everyone insane by dribbling the tour dates out like this?

Pavement will launch their highly anticipated reunion tour on March 1, 2010 in Auckland, New Zealand and then continue on to Australia. All shows except Golden Plains go on sale at 9:00 AM local time on Friday, October 23. This is the only time the tour will stop in the two countries.

NEW ZEALAND 2010:
AUCKLAND: Monday 1 March - Auckland Town Hall

AUSTRALIA 2010:
-SYDNEY: Thursday 4 March - Enmore Theatre
-VICTORIA: Saturday 6 March - Golden Plains -Info
-ADELAIDE: Sunday 7 March - Thebarton Theatre
-PERTH: Monday 8 March - Metro City
-BRISBANE: Wednesday 10 March - The Tivoli
-MELBOURNE: Friday 12 March - The Palace

Pavement to Curate May 2010 ATP in the UK

Pavement and their ADD-suffering tour promoter are at it again, announcing shows randomly and many months in advance. It was announced today that they are curating the All Tomorrow's Parties weekend next May in Somerset, UK. Tickets go on sale this Friday.

Pavement will headline and curate an All Tomorrow's Parties weekend from May 14 to 16 at Butlins Holiday Resort in Minehead, Somerset, UK. This is the band's first non-US appearance of the reunion tour to be revealed. More will follow soon!

Tickets for the weekend are priced at £160pp for room only and £170pp for self catering and go on sale this Friday at here. They will sell extremely quickly if last month's sales for New York City in September 2010 are to be any indication.

First Pavement Reunion Central Park Show Sells Out; 897987 Additional Shows Added

After years of speculation, the most important American band of the Nineties is returning to the stage with the lineup of Mark Ibold, Scott "Spiral Stairs" Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West reuniting for dates around the world in 2010. Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion....An evidentiary compilation release is planned to coincide with the touring sometime in 2010. (Source)

The big news around the indie music sphere today is/was the reunion show (show being singular) onsale of Pavement in NYC's Central Park on 9/21/NEXT YEAR (yup, 2010). It started at 10 am and...sold out pretty much instantly (I know, I was there. And no, I cannot believe I just bought effing tickets for something a year from now that does not include an airplane, a moving van, or the Space Shuttle Atlantis).

Do not fret not if you missed out and want to go because it seems Pavement's promoter is going buck wild with additional dates at the moment. At roughly 10:30 am, a 2nd and a 3rd date were added to follow that first Central Park show, and a 4th is rumored. (Tickets are available here, password is "zowee.")

At roughly $100 for a pair (thanks to Ticketmonster fees and such), the three shows all being mid-week, the haphazard way the shows were added like an ADD-suffering promoter went off his Ritalin ("Wait I'll add one more show! No, two more! No three!"), AND the onsale being a year in advance, the slags are numerous (and often pretty funny). I just hope Spiral Stairs doesn't choke Malkmus with his own handcuffs before the year is out. And how about that disclaimer in the announcement statement, "Please be advised this tour is not a prelude to additional jaunts and/or a permanent reunion"? Maybe this is a cash-in tour for them then, but as long as the performances aren't phoned in if you will, I say who cares. I, for one, am over the moon about finally getting to see this band live.

The remainder of the tour dates are to be announced sometime soon.

Update (4:02): 4th show was announced. Tickets are available here, password is "zowee."


Give a Listen: Cut Your Hair-Pavement

Pavement to Reunite for String of Shows in 2010. Next Up: Flying Cars!

Just when I get them off a non-stop loop in my cranium they pull me back in with exciting news...Brooklyn Vegan reports that those lo-fi lovelies, Pavement are, at long last, doing more than a simple one-off show in 2010, quite possibly a tour, and it may all start at Coachella. LA friends, I may be coming west soon...

According to reliable sources, it's finally happening in 2010! There will be multiple, possibly four, nights of shows at NYC's Central Park Summerstage in September of that year. That could be part of a tour. That could be the end of a tour, the middle of a tour, or even the beginning of a tour, but it seems reasonable to speculate that they might make their official comeback at Coachella in April.

Update:
Pitchfork is now proclaiming THEIR source says the reunion will be a benefit show for Central Park SummerStage on 9/21/10.

Well, there's the first question for my Mark Ibold interview...:)

Seen Your Video/Color Me Impressed: Pavement's "Shady Lane" and Pavement Overall

(Normally "Seen Your Video" and "Color Me Impressed," the latter being a segment that addresses the question, "What's so great about those guys?" are separate segments. But the video for the song today is good, as is the band, so we figured we'd combine them and do a little bit of both.)

You know when you get a song in your head and then you listen to it a few times and the ongoing loop in your head subsides? That usually works for me...usually. Every once in awhile though a song burrows its way in...WAY in. Most times it's in the form of a bad commercial jingle (I can't even look at a Mentos package now for this very reason). But sometimes, it's a lovely song with a hook so hooky that if I died right then, I'd go out smiling for sure. I'm happy to report that the song currently wedged in my frontal lobe is of the latter variety: Pavement's "Shady Lane."

I think the best way to trip someone into a love of Pavement is with a random Ipod shuffle of their records. On a road trip with a friend, who, it turned out, was a huge Pavement fan, was when I fell ass over teakettle in love. I wasn't a total neophyte, I'd bought Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain a long time ago, and listened to it a few times...then put it away. I wasn't ready. There were a few tracks I liked ("Cut Your Hair," "Gold Soundz," "Range Life"), but most of it seemed to be all noisy-noisiness, and well, I've never been a fan of true noisy-noise. But being a captive audience to someone else's driving of an Ipod (and a car), the underlying current of catchy melody that Pavement worked into that noisy-noisiness suddenly dawned on me because I wasn't multi-tasking with five other things; Pavement had my full attention. By the time the finger-tapping guitar-line of "Shady Lane" came on (my friend's favorite Pavement record is Brighten the Corners) and I heard one of the greatest rock song lines ever-"You've been chosen as an extra in the sequel of the movie adaptation to your life"-that was all she wrote. Pavement had scored one more fan.

PS: Mark Ibold? Loooove me some Mark Ibold. And I'm normally a drummer kind of girl!

Give a Listen: Shady Lane-Pavement

Win a Shopping Spree at IKEA with....Pavement?

The PR people at Matador Records are either incredibly creative or incredibly mental, I can't determine which yet. One thing's for sure, obviously none of them have ever tried the Swedish Meatball lunch.

Win A Date To IKEA With A Member Of Pavement • You need to submit a photo and "short essay" explaining why you should be the one who wins iMeem and Matador's $500 Brighten The Corners IKEA shopping spree with "a member of Pavement." There's no word which member, but the winner gets a free "Swedish Meatball lunch," so you ought to be happy even if it's Bob Nastanovich. Enter at iMeem until 12/6 (winners announced 12/9). (Source)