ARTICLE BY CHERYL CHENG
PHOTOS BY MELISSA MOORE
APRIL 15 | POMONA—When a band reunites, there is a lot of expectation, naturally. Will the band members sound as good as they did back in [insert time period here]? Or has enough time passed to make them irrelevant? But for Pavement, who reunited late last year, the band seems to have taken it all in stride. And despite an awkward, tentative start tonight, with some sound issues early on, the ’90s band proved that they still have it in them.
Performing for about two hours, Pavement spanned many of its classic tracks and did two encores, giving the fans at the sold-out Fox Theater exactly what they wanted. All the band members seemed to be in especially good spirits, with singer Stephen Malkmus displaying such rock star moves as leg splits and kneeling guitar duty. Rivaling Malkmus in on-stage personality was percussionist/keyboardist/vocalist Bob Nastanovich, who enthusiastically took to his vocal duties for such songs as set closer “Conduit for Sale.” He also was the chattiest of the group, joking about Pomona, Calif., “I would say it’s great to be back, but I’ve never been here.”
Pavement ran the musical gamut, performing the more melodic tunes, including “Gold Soundz,” “Range Life” and “Shady Lane,” to the guitar distortion of “Stereo” and the anthem-like shout in “Two States”—”40 million daggers!” The band’s best-known single, “Cut Your Hair,” was saved for the near end and elicited loud cheers from the audience; the song still holds after all these years. Touring in support of Quarantine the Past: The Best of Pavement, the band included a few tracks from each of its five albums, providing an effective retrospective of its career. The energy of both the band and its fans was palpable tonight; everyone was happy to be here.
Pavement will perform at Coachella this Sunday, which is momentous in that the band performed at the festival’s inception back in 1999, the same year that Malkmus and company went their separate ways. This weekend’s performance will mark the evolution of a band, now a bit older and wiser and certainly still in top form musically. Pavement will perform in Los Angeles on Sept. 30 for a show at the Hollywood Bowl with Sonic Youth and No Age. However, the status of the band is still up in the air. Nastanovich declares it’s a one-time deal, while guitarist Scott Kannberg is more ambivalent: “If [the reunion] is enjoyable for us, I think … we’ll make some more music.” Judging by tonight’s performance, it looks like the band is having a good time. Welcome back, Pavement.
Leave a Reply