Review: Pixies at Fremantle Prison (Sunday night)

Pixies at Fremantle Prison
w/ Elliot & Vincent
Sunday, November 9, 2025

With two huge shows at Fremantle Prison over the weekend, the Pixies well and truly proved they are still a force to be reckoned with. Not a nostalgia act going through the motions. Hot off the release of one of their best ‘modern-era’ Pixies albums (last year’s The Night The Zombies Came), the band are back, touring and in great form.

A legendary, highly influential alternative rock band that released some genre-defining records, during the Pixies’ original incarnation from ’86 to ’93, they released five albums that became touchstones for the indie rock explosion of the 90s. Somewhat of a precursor to grunge, they were a noted influence on Kurt Cobain with their loud-quiet-loud dynamics and bands ranging from Radiohead and PJ Harvey to The Strokes and Weezer.

Their latest album is the fifth the group have released since reforming in 2004, which means the reformed Pixies have now released as many albums as they did in their heyday!

While all Pixies fans miss Kim Deal, it’s been over 10 years since she parted ways with the band, again. Currently filling those big bass shoes is Emma Richardson (ex-Band of Skulls and also a talented painter), who took over from Paz Lenchantin last year, who had been with the band and recorded several albums over the last 10 years but was let go somewhat suddenly and surprisingly. Richardson proved she’s got the chops to rock those iconic basslines, as well as chime in with some vocals where required. She did a great job on those essential Deal backing vocals and parts where she featured more prominently. She didn’t try to replicate Deal’s unique voice but rather do her own faithful version.

One thing we have to give the Pixies credit and support for is that they always come to Perth, something that seems to be happening less and less with bands these days. Frank Black (aka Black Francis) seems to like it here; earlier in the day he had posted a picture online of himself, lying down casually, in front of the Bon Scott statue at Fremantle Harbour, stating that it was “always nice to be here in Freo” and that if he “lived in Australia, it would most likely be here.”

With the new album and a new bass player, Pixies seem reinvigorated and played a set for the ages with real energy. This night’s ‘Classic Pixies’ set list was incredible. There were numerous tracks off the new album, as to be expected, but also a huge serving of Pixies classics and even some rare deep cuts. This was the band’s second show, following the previous night’s full run-through of their Bossanova (1990) and Trompe Le Monde (1991) albums—exciting to witness for true Pixies fans, but Sunday’s setlist was to die for.

Starting things off for the night at the 90s music fan, old person-friendly time of 6.30pm were Elliot & Vincent. This grungey Kiwi noise-rock duo have a real energy onstage for two young musicians. There’s White Stripes comparisons, but less blues-rock and more of a dense post-punk vibe with touches of Bloc Party and Yeah Yeah Yeahs, featuring Vincent playing frenetic, heavy, effected guitar and Elliot singing while playing drums.

Both are dynamic to watch on stage and gained the crowd’s attention as people continued to flow into the prison courtyard. She has a grit and smoothness to her voice, with a smoky PJ Harvey-esque quality, while playing marching, staccato lead drums with a real percussive style. They pulled out an unexpected, swinging cover of ZZ Top’s Sharp Dressed Man that somehow worked well. Their 2024 single Doberman was great, with Elliot delivering her cool and sultry vocal refrain, “uh uh-uh uh,” while really working up a driving groove alongside Vincent’s heavy guitar riffing, building up to a screaming climax.

After a break and much anticipation, as the front GA area filled, Pixies took the stage and came bursting out of the gates with the manic Bone Machine from their first full album, 1988’s Surfer Rosa. It came in hard with that classic Pixies mix of solid driving bass and drums, offset with ferocious and wild guitar riffs, and Frank Black randomly screaming and shouting weird things like “You’re so pretty when you’re unfaithful to me!” “He bought me a soda and tried to molest me in the parking lot. Yep-yep!” No one screams like Frank Black.

Two more big classics were belted out in quick succession, with Wave Of Mutilation and Monkey Gone To Heaven, and it became apparent the Pixies weren’t here to mess around.

After delving back into their first release, 1987’s Come On Pilgrim, with a spirited performance of Caribou, which saw the crowd matching Black’s soaring falsetto that drifted off into the night sky, “Caribouuuu!”, they then moved into some newer material.

One of the better tracks from the new album, The Vegas Suite was a nice change in tempo with its more laidback balladesque sounds and some sweet backing vocals from Richardson. Snakes from their 2014 comeback album Indie Cindy, was a random selection and one of the only new-era Pixies tracks not from the latest album.

Another welcome inclusion was their infamous version of In Heaven (Lady In The Radiator Song) from the soundtrack of David Lynch’s surrealistic nightmare film Eraserhead. While their main recorded version features Black screaming increasingly manic vocals, the live version with Kim Deal singing was more enigmatic and haunting. It was nice to see Frank giving Richardson the honours to perform it, and she shone in the spotlight.

Their most pop moment Here Comes Your Man has always been a fan favourite, despite its uncharacteristically upbeat melody. It got everyone singing and dancing along.

The urgent stomp of David Lovering’s drums announced Vamos, which garnered cheers as Joey Santiago displayed his unique lead guitar skills, fast and frantic buzzing like an electric mosquito, taking his lead out and manipulating waves of feedback like a theremin, even taking off and playing with his flat cap. He’s the underrated, quiet star of the group.

Their cover of Neil Young’s Winterlong (a B-side from 1990’s Dig For Fire) was another cool, deep cut, with epic instrumentals, before they started to break out the big guns. Three of the best moments from Doolittle and three of their best songs—Gouge Away, Debaser and Hey—all followed in close proximity. They all sounded as dark, foreboding and powerful as ever.

They took their time slowly building the rhythm of Gouge Away with its stark bassline reverberating against the limestone prison walls. With the glowing green P logo behind them and smoke wafting across the stage, the minimal visuals and lighting were used to great effect.

“Chien!” bellowed the crowd during Debaser, singing along to the crazy Spanish chorus of the song. For many years as a young man I could not work out what he was shouting on the chorus after singing about slicing up eyeballs. Later on I found out it was, of course, in fact “Chien Andalusia, I am un!”, a reference to Buñuel and Dali’s 1929 seminal surrealist short film, Un Chien Andalou. It’s so Pixies and made me love them even more.

They moved through a sequence of tracks from the new album, including Primrose, Motoroller and the laidback groove of Mercy Me, and they sounded great live and stood up surprisingly well alongside the classics. Chicken is one of the best new tracks with its rumbling bass and sweet melodies and harmonies, with some classic Black lyricism: “…when something aloft, cuts my head right off, now I’m dealing with decapitation.”

Then they took things home with an epic final four sequence. First up, Velouria sounded superb, with Richardson doing a great job, not only on bass but also on the crucial Kim Deal vocal part, spelling out Velouria.

One of their greatest, most underrated, lesser-known tracks, from Bossanova, The Happening was an exciting inclusion for the real fans. The last couple of minutes of which is up there with their greatest and is also known as The Thing, an earlier, shorter version that was recorded in 1990 as a B-side to Velouria.

Their biggest song these days (probably thanks to Fight Club), Where Is My Mind?, sounded better than ever, echoing out into the night sky, with a ready choir doing the “oooo-oooh!” part. And awesomely, they finished with another deep cut and live favourite, Into The White, famously sung by Kim Deal. Tonight Frank Black sang it, with some help from Richardson, who took over for the epic outro that reached stratospheric heights.

Pixies can still command a crowd with the sheer weight of the songs themselves and can still deliver them well enough that you don’t find people saying, ‘They were really good, for their age.’ Pixies are still just really good. May they continue to rule in this new era and carry on their legacy. You only had to look around the crowd at the end to see all these monkeys had gone to heaven, and in Freo, everything was fine.

ALFRED GORMAN

Photos by Linda Dunjey