PIXIES/MODEST MOUSE/CAT POWER – LIVE @ THE AMP
By Donna Marie Eriquezzo
Pixies, Modest Mouse and Cat Power play the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater on 8/24 to a packed house.
It’s a Thursday night at the end of August and I am attending a concert at Hartford Healthcare in Bridgeport, Ct. for a first at this particular venue. I have to say I was impressed with the venue. It was nice, clean, and they had an amazing donut truck with fairly priced killer donuts, so we hung out and ate before the show.
First on the stage was Cat Power. Charlyn Marie “Chan” Marshall is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and model who goes by the stage name Cat Power. Initially, Cat Power was the name of her band, but it has now become her solo artist alias. Cat grew up in the south and began performing in local bands in Atlanta, GA in the early 90’s. In 1998 she released her fourth album, Moon Pix, to critical acclaim. She has played with musicians such as Eddie Vedder who appeared on her 2003 full length, You Are Free.
Cat delivers an eclectic mix of folk, punk and blues on her earlier albums and in her later music you can make out soul and other genres. Her new album is called Wanderer. It is her first in 6 years and her 10th album. A death of a friend is what motivated her to do this record and although its not sad, it’s a deep album about life and survival. You can hear once again how very soulful her music is.
Cat came out on stage wearing a long straight black dress with mile high stilettos and dark winged eyeliner. She moved the audience with her serene lyrics. Her rhythm and vocals seemed to ease the audience with a sense of peace and tranquility. Cat was a moving opener for Pixies.
Cat Power Setlist:
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – Rolling Stones cover
Cross Bones Style/Nude as the News
Manhattan
Good Woman
It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels – Kitty Wells cover
Mr. Tambourine Man – Bob Dylan cover
Modest Mouse is a rock band formed in 1993 in Issaquah, Washington. Currently based in Portland, Oregon, the group consisted of lead vocalist and guitarist Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, and bassist Eric Judy. Drawing inspiration from influential bands like Pavement, Pixies, XTC, and Talking Heads, Modest Mouse spent nearly two years rehearsing, reworking, and producing demos.
Eventually, they signed with the independent label K Records and released several singles. It was their fourth album, Good News For People Who Love Bad News (Epic Records,2004), and its popular tracks “Float On” and “Ocean Breathes Salty” that propelled them to mainstream success. From 1996 to 2022, the band’s lineup consisted mostly of Brock and Green, while undergoing multiple changes.
As of 2023, Brock is the only original member, Green having passed away in December, 2022. The rest of the band consists of Tom Peloso on keyboard, upright bass, horns, and fiddle, Russell Higbee on bass, rhythm, keyboards and backing vocals, Ben Massarella on percussion and Simon O’Connor on lead guitar and backing vocals. The current touring musicians are Damon Cox on drums, Keith Karman on keyboards, bass guitar, acoustic guitar and backup vocals.
Modest Mouse made a powerful entrance and were very energetic and rhythmic. They had the crowd up and moving to their danceable alternative beats from the beginning until the end of their set. Their music really brought me back in time to the younger days of alternative dance clubs that were abundant at the time. I absolutely loved when the singer brought out a banjo to accompany his vocals. They really got the crowd up and moving and ready for Pixies. What a great hour of music!
Modest Mouse Setlist
The World at Large
Dramamine
Dashboard
Gravity Rides Everything
Fuck Your Acid Trip
Wooden Soldiers
3rd Planet
Night on the Sun
Satin in a Coffin
Bukowski
The Ground Walks, With Time in a Box
Teeth Like God’s Shoeshine
Float On
Doin’ The Cockroach
Pixies came on last too a packed house and what a performance! American alternative music group Pixies was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1986. Black Francis (vocals, rhythm guitar, songwriter), Joey Santiago (lead guitar), Kim Deal (bass, vocals), and David Lovering (drums) made up the band up until 2013. They split up amicably in 1993 but got back together in 2004.
Pixies hired Kim Shattuck as a touring bassist when Deal quit in 2013, but she was later replaced by Paz Lenchantin, who joined the band permanently in 2016. The group incorporates elements from punk rock and surf music, are known for being a part of the alternative rock explosion of the 1990s. Dynamic “loud-quiet-loud” transitions and song structures are hallmarks of their music. Francis is the main lyricist for Pixies, and his frequently strange songs include unusual topics including extraterrestrials, incest, and biblical brutality.
Their harsh pop music had an impact on bands like Weezer, Radiohead, the Smashing Pumpkins, and Nirvana. After their breakup, Pixies‘ fame increased, resulting in a 2004 reunion, world tours that sold out in advance, and four more albums: Indie Cindy (2014), Head Carrier (2016), Beneath the Eyrie (2019), and Doggerel (2022).
Pixies were on fire and their music was a smashing success. This night was a wonderful trip down memory lane. It brought back such a great time in my life and the music that led me to where I am today.
Pixies Setlist
Wave of Mutilation
Head On
Isla de Encanta
Human Crime
Monkey Gone to Heaven
Doggerel
There’s a Moon on
Get Simulated
Cactus
All The Saints
Here Comes Your Man
Ana
Mr. Grieves
Nimrod’s Son
Motorway to Roswell
Gouge Away
Debaser
Tame
Caribou
Hey
Who’s More Sorry Now?
Haunted House
Wave of Mutilation
Death Horizon
Where is My Mind?
Winterlong – Neil Young cover
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