Bristol
30 June 2024
After a short Bauhaus introduction we were greeted by a blistering best-of set from The Breeders. Unlike the underwhelming sound of televised Glasto they sounded huge; driven. Amplifying that haunting economy of vision that curves so succinctly through punchy accents and butterflying guitars orbiting their curious bounty of words.
The biting rub of “Get In The Car” and “Saints” was almost album-perfect, dipping gleefully into “Doe”‘s chorusing harmonics. Kelly Deal’s guitar capturing the afterglow that’s thrown back into the chorus. Her “ah ah ah” lightness of breath scooping at Kim Deal’s repeats — that acoustic guitar of hers seeming like a natural extension of her body.
Sharp and guttural — the vocals beam, the more romantically inclined tracks literally glowing. Kim’s slow-roasted delivery unwrapping in your ears… the vibrating brilliance of “Off You” caught in a gentle hula-skirted lilac; the spiralling quaffs of “Do You Love Me Now”, the nocturnal burn of the only track from Mountain Battles they played, “Night Of Joy”, a gentle melancholic wonder that clung warmly to you.Well worn, the songs feel lived-in, but clearly remain a total joy to play; still slippery with the enthusiasm that created them … loads of knowing grins between the three as the chords slip into place (caught in playful reminisce maybe?) … Kim shooting a glance at Kelly … receiving a carefully crafted smirked reply before tilting her head back to dive into a lung full … Josephine Wiggs’s bass adding an exquisite dark current to Jim MacPherson’s galvanising gallops.
The weird tumbledown snare and chewing-gum chords of “Hag” … all three chorusing through, diffusing into the purple spotlights … the tensive-torn treat of “Opened” — a totally electrifying performance as charcoaled seagulls wheeled round in the half-light. The re-invented photography of their releases paint-splattered and blurred in neon colour clashes behind the band, something 4AD need to release as an art-book (like yesterday please). Visuals that softly trap your eye in vivid greens and strawberry reds — that ape and elephant of their 1992 Safari EP buttery with kaleidoscopic swirls.Their weird symmetry holding to those clustering chords, the irregular ransom hitting your ears. “Safari”s mauve-mauled transits gelling superbly as they should. A song that encapsulates the early ’90s for me — as does the anarchic “When I Was A Painter”, and tonight is really re-affirming my love of Pod and of course Last Splash.
Even when the songs are not their own, like the awesome Beatles cover they encore with, they feel ‘Breederised’, reborn. “Drivin’ On 9”, another cover to which recent tour recruit Sophie Galphin (who has been adding extra guitar texturals throughout) supplies some excellent swaying violin and plucked strings. Pity “Cannonball” didn’t really hit the mark though, but only a small miss in an otherwise storming set … a performance ecstatically received — Kim expressing to the joyous crowd that this last UK gig was the best received of them all … and it really was the best! A whole hour and half’s worth, including a nod to Kim’s history with an awesome rendition of “Gigantic” (she was way too talented to remain in Mr Black’s shadow), a real crowd-pleaser that got me grinning like a fool and the toe-curling pop of “Divine Hammer” too, all topped off by the tactile delirium of “Iris”. We left absolutely buzzing, our grubby paws full of an insane amount of merch.-Michael Rodham-Heaps-
