Article by: Matt Altieri

Perhaps one of the more infamous “indie” bands of our generation, Pavement, blasted through the 90’s, putting forth classic albums such as the Stoney Wonderland of Terror Twilight (Matador, 1999), Slanted and Enchanted (Matador, 1992), and the masterpiece Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain (Matador, 1994). Several nude drummers and world tours later, the band called it quits on November 20, 1999, playing their final concert to the attendees of the Brixton Academy in London. Lead singer Stephen Malkmus had a pair of handcuffs around the microphone, and told the audience “These symbolize what it’s like being in a band all these years.”

You would think that members like multi-instrumentalist Bob Nastanovich and guitarist Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg would have taken this all to heart, but ten years later, an unthinkable Christmas present for music dweebs and hipsters alike came into alignment: Pavement was getting back together! The website Brooklyn Vegan was the first to report on this, announcing “multiple, possibly four, nights of shows at NYC’s Central Park Summerstage in September of that year. That could be part of a tour.”

And what a tour it is going to be! Pavement announced that they would be playing one Central Park show, leading tickets to sell out in two minutes. Pavement then scheduled three more Central Park shows, which sold out as well. As of March 1, Pavement not only played their first show of the tour in Auckland, New Zealand, they expanded their voyage six more days to appease their ten-year-starved fan base. This extravagant tour includes several festival stops as well, such as the Primavera Sound Festival, Sasquatch!, Pitchfork Media Festival, and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival for this summer.

Commenting on their first show from his blog, Kannberg put forth a positive outcome for the show, stating, “The show was great. The fans were unreal. Whew… all those Pavement anxiety dreams can now go away! Auckland was great. We had an amazing time the few days we were here. Good weather and good people.” A massive set list of 25 songs was performed. Favorites like “Cut Your Hair” and “Range Life” graced the stage again, rarities like “In the Mouth a Desert” and “Date w/ IKEA” lived once again. The encore of “Stereo,” “Spit on a Stranger,” and “Conduit for Sale” foreshadows a psychedelic spring and summer for Pavement fans – at least for those who have tickets.

Pavement is playing the
Agganis Arena on
September 18 2010.
Tickets go on sale March 12.