Pavement:Classic or Dud

obsessed with this set tbh

I bought Slay Tracks b/c I am from Charlottesville and a friend of mine tipped me to it after I left town (in 1984) but was still coming back in the college and post-college years, so wild to me that Berman and Malkmus and James McNew (later of Yo La Tengo, who I knew in high school altho we went to different districts) all played in a basement proto-band with said friend, if I had stayed in town I would have met them. Instead I went to the West Coast and followed the band on and off until the post-Wowee era

coming at me after all these years this stuff hits hard, I was cool on the Watery-Crooked era back in the day but now "Frontwards" and "Cut Your Hair" and "Unfair" sound amazing to me in this context. I'd pay good money for a professionally mixed release of this set.

I think someone was taping their rehearsals back in the spring summer professionally, it was some famous director, Alex Ross Perry? But it looks like he did the Harness Your Hopes video. But if you look at their IG those LA rehearsals were taped and possibly even the Portland stuff.

I actually listened to a few 2010 reunion shows this week and they sound great for the most part. I think that maybe at the time, I wasn't quite ready for 90s nostalgia. I had fun at the show I saw back then, but it felt a little un-memorable.

i got lucky and saw a show where they played 3/4 of Watery Domestic! (They skipped Feed Em To the Lions)

does SM forget to introduce Bob at the end of that Primavera set?

Crazy that the L.A. shows are in a few weeks… the summer went fast.

Errata: sometime in the last month, they posted an Instagram video of the guys goofing around at a chili dog place a few miles from our house. (I think it was even a live stream at first; we thought of jumping in the car and going down there…)

The Uncut mag has some great bits of narrative & ephemera I’ve never heard/seen. Dig this Kannberg story:

https://i.imgur.com/I8MHvuC_d.webp?maxwidth=640&shape=thumb&fidelity=medium

A few golden oldies at last night’s SD show: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/pavement/2022/balboa-theatre-san-diego-ca-1bb0fd50.html

A few songs last night were great – Type Slowly, Home, Unfair – but the rest of it kind of just felt like your average Pavement show… definitely didn’t have the magic of that first club show in May, but I guess that’s not surprising (I feel really lucky to have been at that one). Will be back tonight as well.

(sorry, guess I’ve sort of jacked this thread…)

I’m wondering if it would just be cheaper to cop merch from the site as opposed to at the show (I’m seeing them Oct 6).

By merch I mean shirts

I can report back on T-shirt prices at the merch table, if you’re interested.

I’d appreciate that!

I'd peg the under/over on a t-shirt at $33

Tonight was awesome!! They killed it. Such a good show…

(T-shirts are $35)

This rips

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td0revzciXM

well I'm off to see this band

Fantastic shows in Chicago—I bought a ticket to the second one immediately after coming home from the first. Only a few shared songs between the last night and tonight; the former was heavier on Brighten, tonight on Slanted and the EPs. I haven’t gone to a show in years, but I’d never seen them before and this thread convinced me—boy, am I glad for that. I just stood there grinning and thinking that this sound is my platonic ideal of ’90s guitar music.

ACL Live Stream On Monday

https://acltv.com/2022/10/06/live-stream-pavement/

Thanks for the Orpheum link above. I had to miss the NY shows (too much going on this week and Kings is quite a hike from where I am), but that was a nice consolation. I know all four NY shows were recorded by tapers so hopefully those will be widely available soon. (One's on archive.)

Yes, thanks for that! I had a ticket for the Philly show but wasn't able to make the trek out there, so I consoled myself by digging into the Primavera and Orpheum sets last night instead (I'd been holding off on watching them so I could go into the show fresh).

I think the Orpheum set ended up being a better watch simply because it gave you the option to see anything at any point in time - whichever player you wanted to watch or the background projections if you were more interested in that. I put it on a 55" monitor hooked up to a stereo system and it was pretty awesome - it was kind of like having a nice balcony seat in a way.

They brought Kurt Vile out to sing Zurich in Phila last night:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ma1RbgXEToI

This Guardian article (which the band is promoting) has some interesting details about how the breakup affected Kannberg, etc.

That was a great read. I didn't realize Kannberg was about to be a bus driver in Seattle when he got the call about the 2010 reunion. Crazy. Reminds me of Topper Headon and how he used to drive a cab sometime after the Clash - imagine getting a ride only to discover the driver was part of your favorite band.

Can someone explain to me why this particular reunion tour is so newsworthy? I mean, they've reunited several times before, right? And post-unlikely algorithmic hit "Harness Your Hopes?" My entire timeline has been nothing but Pavement all week. To be sure, much better than trending topics about bombings or the alt right, but I don't understand why people are acting like this one is such a huge deal? What am I missing?

They seem to be having a good time?

Actually no, it's been twelve years since they last toured. (Would've been ten but the pandemic happened.) And before that, it had been over ten with serious doubts if they'd ever reunite again. So just two reunions and the rarity alone is special. As the Guardian article emphasized, they turned down an offer from Jeff Tweedy to do a co-headlining tour in 2014. (Kannberg wanted to but Bob thought it was a bad idea.)

("Actually no" should have an xp in front of it - they ARE having a good time.)

also they are playing lots of songs that they have never played live before!

It's their 2nd (and likely final, if Malk is to be believed) reunion; they're at a cultural "high point" and enjoying new fans/goodwill (vs. 2010); they're playing great – all as mentioned above

its newsworthy bc pavement fucken rules

IIRC the 2010 tour was like their best-known stuff (the "hits" if you can call it that), which was great because I was told they could be notoriously hit-or-miss live when they were originally together. Now it's like a really deep dive into the catalog, and they're even improving tracks I don't like ("Folk Jam" for starters).

Also it's great to see them appreciated this way - the Guardian article is a great read for that reason, emphasizing what the economic reality is like when you're in a band like Pavement.

The most touching part of the Friday Brooklyn show is when it seemed liked everyone was singing along to "Here" - like for a minute it seemed like Pavement did achieve mass popularity and they had something that was as widely known as a Beatles hit. (After it was over, Bob said he was "verklempt." Then Stephen recommended he take a reefer.)

DC show last night was fantastic; first time I'd ever seen them live. Lots of jams and deep cuts from WZ and BTC (and no Harness Your Hopes). They're in a sweet spot with their catalogue where if they're playing well they can't really go wrong with the selection (unless there's a lot of Terror Twilight numbers, but that's me).

Can someone explain to me why this particular reunion tour is so newsworthy? I mean, they've reunited several times before, right? And post-unlikely algorithmic hit "Harness Your Hopes?" My entire timeline has been nothing but Pavement all week. To be sure, much better than trending topics about bombings or the alt right, but I don't understand why people are acting like this one is such a huge deal? What am I missing?

― Paul Ponzi

they had sex with your mom

Harry Styles probably wore a Pavement shirt or something

Speaking of which, glancing at the table last night it didn’t look like Pavement has updated their merch since 1999.

yellow arm pit rings

It's a mix of vintage designs and (cool) new stuff...

It's definitely newsworthy ... and yes, two relatively short reunions in 23 years, certainly not "several times."

I think what we're seeing with this one, too, is kinda like a high school reunion ... at 10 years, you're happy to see people but really not far enough away from graduation to think of it as a big, special deal and you've not aged enough to really have the perspective that life doesn't last forever, it's the people and relationships that matter, etc. Then at 20 years, you're starting to understand that more and so you start to appreciate seeing old friends, recounting the memories, etc.

In this case, I think it's the same for both the band members and their longtime fans. It's much more feel-good than it was in 2010, and as a result, the band seems happier and more game for the hype/celebration/reminiscing. And then there's the added layer of new fans, "Harness," etc.

Also from 9/30, Bob singing "I'm just a boy with a new haircut, LITERALLY!" was funny. (FWIW, when I saw him 2010 he had nice curly locks.)

also, One Eye Open otm: it's newsworthy because they're better than pretty much every other band *shrug*

FWIW, the 2010 show was more memorable to me, mainly because it was the first time I ever saw them - I never thought I'd get that chance. And I was right in the very front on the edge of the stage, so that made a difference. This time is kind of poignant because they've visibly gotten much older - Stephen's gone completely grey, Scott now looks exactly like some old dudes I know who are generations removed, and most of them are wearing glasses (except Bob and Stephen). It does make you appreciate that they're still here and able to do this.

Bob wears glasses too, maybe just not onstage
https://external-preview.redd.it/QPmKVEPhfvZ9XfdS9uCcmHIvgzjIiHFdEquW4xtUeOA.jpg?auto=webp&s=d9def49b983ed8b51b44faa9e4865ee709f9fb2c

also. . . name a better band from that era

1) Stone Temple Pilots
2) Smashing Pumpkins

I kid, of course. I have been following this tour on IG and I admit it makes me misty-eyed. I'm not seeing them cuz I'm trying to put my limited live shows budget towards bands I haven't seen before (just bought tix to see The Comet Is Coming in a few weeks). I also had something of a Peak Experience seeing them on the 2010 tour and IDK if that can be topped.

also. . . name a better band from that era

― a (waterface), Friday, October 7, 2022 3:13 PM (three minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

come on

I like Pavement, for the record - a lot! - but it's exactly this kind of hyperbole / mass hypnosis that puts me off

Also it's great to see them appreciated this way

it seems to me that Pavement has always occupied that enviable place in the indie rock pantheon along with Yo La Tengo, Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth, and a few others where it's basically taken for granted that their place in alt rock history is beyond reproach and more or less assured. I mean this is hardly an underdog story here

Sorry to grump all over the thread, I'm sincerely glad so many of you are having fun, especially since fun has been in such short supply these past few years

come on

I like Pavement, for the record - a lot! - but it's exactly this kind of hyperbole / mass hypnosis that puts me off

Name it. Name the band from that era that's better.

I think what we're seeing with this one, too, is kinda like a high school reunion ... at 10 years, you're happy to see people but really not far enough away from graduation to think of it as a big, special deal and you've not aged enough to really have the perspective that life doesn't last forever, it's the people and relationships that matter, etc. Then at 20 years, you're starting to understand that more and so you start to appreciate seeing old friends, recounting the memories, etc.

i think this is well said ...

And hey, they sounded great, seemed to be having fun at the show I saw. Very good vibes.