In a time when the modern rock show too often comes packaged with pretense and posturing, the Breeders re-emerge to remind us what real rock is. At Slim’s, the crowd—young punks, dudes with Mohawks, girl-girl couples, and a large swath of middle-aged guys in tees and sweatshirts—hadn’t come to be trendy, they’d come for Kim Deal.
Playing for the sold-out house, the former Pixies bassist—alongside twin sister Kelley—delved into the Breeders’ back catalogue, dusting off enough classics to delight the crowd of devoted fans and trotting out a few tunes from the just-out Mountain Battles album in hopes of winning some new ones.
The first strategy proved more successful, as the band kicked off the set with Kim singing “Stop drinking my beer” on “Tipp City.” Written for Kim’s other band, The Amps, and originally played while Kelley was in rehab, the song set the tone for the evening and reminded us how far the girls had come. The crowd was already moving and shaking and the Deal sisters were on their game, expertly strumming and spiraling into rapid clapping on new song “Bang On.”
While the surf sensibilities of “Bang On” and the irrepressible rhythm of “Walk It Off” scored big with the audience, the more mellow menacing tracks that permeate Mountain Battles were met with a lackluster response. As the final notes of the ethereal keyboard on “We’re Gonna Rise” sounded, Kelley Deal remarked, “Somebody was yawning. Is that too boring to play live?”
If there might have been a yawn or two during some of the new songs, the last part of the show excited long-time fans, with songs from 1990’s Pod and 1993’s smash Last Splash. Kelley teased, “Give me a chord, baby—a right one,” before launching into “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” and perfectly channeled the tone of a PSA in chanting “I Just Wanna Get Along.” The biggest applause of the night though came at the conclusion of the super-noisy hit “Cannonball,” which the crowd cheered for as soon as the bass line dropped.
Easily relating to the Breeders’ guitar and bass-driven sound, opener Colour Revolt brought bluesy rock out of their Mississippi garage to tour with the Deals. (They’ll move on to tour with Snowden in mid-May.) Resting somewhere between a non-psychedelic (and less Swedish) version of Dungen and a southern take on an early Radiohead, Colour Revolt played the oddly melodic “Mattresses Underwater” from their self-titled 2006 EP. The lead singer promised to blow our minds with “Naked And Red,” a song that could easily take its cues from both Beck and Iron and Wine, and the drummer played so hard leading up to set-ender “Ageless Everytime” that he’d ripped his shirt. Here’s hoping Colour Revolt find an audience as passionate as they are.
As for the Breeders, that pair of sisters who’d notably inspired Kurt Cobain, they’d long ago found their passionate fans.
For more information:
The Breeders: 4ad.com/breeders or myspace.com/thebreeders
Colour Revolt: colourrevolt.calebplain.com or myspace.com/colourrevolt
Related Articles: Mountain Battles album review
