The Breeders / Pip Blom (live at O2 Academy Bristol)

Bristol
10 July 2018

Opening act Pip Blom shambled on to a very warm response from an already two-thirds full O2 Academy Bristol. One singing guitarist and one drummer share the stage with a fluffy bassist and a manic guitarist looking like a young Jerry Harrison. The rhythm section were taut and focussed, allowing the singing guitarist to throw the sweet but rather ramshackle songs out into the audience, with the second guitarist adding a bit of metallic texture to the pop thrills.

You have to admire any band whose opening song contains the refrain “Too lazy to go to school”, and admire them we did. There was a kind of insouciant charm to the delivery of the songs that brought to mind 1990s Dutch heroes Bettie Serveert and it was only later that we learnt Pip Blom were also Dutch, though with a name like that the penny should have dropped. The singer’s dulcet tones were almost as if Carol van Dijk and Lou Reed had a riot grrl love child and the relationship between the two guitarists was similar to that of Carol and Peter Visser.

Really sweet fuzzy little pop songs with a strangely furry rhythm guitar like a pillow of brillo pads that the second guitar then smeared with dirt and noise; not enough to upset the songs, but enough to give them something to chew on. They must have played a good ten tracks, most from their new album, and at points the volume was increased and the tempo lowered and a strung-out drone assaulted us. An unexpected and pleasant change of pace with which, judging by their response, it is fair to say that the band charmed the audience and won themselves a legion of new fans. Pip Blom look set for a bright future.

After an interminable wait with much guitar tuning going on, The Breeders finally took to the stage, all looking incredibly vibrant and healthy. Both Kim and Kelley Deal were grinning from ear to ear, and if anything, Kim looked a little bemused that so many people were making so much of a racket. At the back, affable rhythm genius Jim MacPherson was set up with Josephine Wiggs off to the right, just looking incredibly cool all in black, glasses on, aloof yet amused. Centre was Kim with a two-mic setup and off to the left, Kelley looking impish and utterly full of beans.

One of the hottest days of the year was not an ideal time to be standing in a venue with a few thousand other people, but as soon as the opening chords to “New Year” from The Last Splash rung out, all that was forgotten and we all immediately fell in love all over again. It has been twenty-five years since Last Splash and also a quarter of a century since I last saw this line up play at the old Victoria Rooms in Bristol. It also seems to mean that plenty of time has passed to allow certain members of the band to clean themselves up, embrace a new-found optimism and play a fantastic set that takes in some absolute wonders of the last thirty years of alternative music.

“Wait In The Car” from All Nerve was next out of the traps and the band really gave it a workout, Kim labouring over the words, rolling them around in her mouth as if savouring the lyrics, before letting us have them, the bass crisp and precise with Kelley, possibly the secret weapon of the night, scrawling guitar graffiti all over the place. Another Last Splash favourite, “No Aloha”, followed and by that time the audience were entirely smitten. It was fun to listen to Kelley telling Jo that she couldn’t understand a word she said, while Jo in return introduced a song from Pod, “Glorious”, telling us that the Deals insisted on pronouncing it “P-a-r-d”. At times, Jo even had a bubble machine to entrance us with while Kim tuned up. It was quite a party atmosphere and the way the magic came together on stage, you would think they had been playing constantly for the last twenty-five years. Hearing the songs live gives you a so much better appreciation of just who adds what to the overall sound, Kelley’s and Kim’s guitars often at odds and Jo’s bass, creamy and dark, underpinning the songs.

The roll-call of classics was endless: “Divine Hammer” was a delirious sing-along, “Safari” simmered and sweated as it crawled out from the murk, and never was such a racket wrung from an acoustic guitar. “Happiness Is A Warm Gun” had the audience enthralled and when “Cannonball” hit, the room went wild. There must have been kids there who weren’t even born when the song was recorded who were leaping around the place like loons. Every rapturous round of applause seemed to inject the band with more enthusiasm. Great tracks from the new album like “Nervous Mary”, with its incredibly vibrant bassline, “Spacewoman” and “Walking With A Killer” were so much more seductive than the album versions, and when Jo took the mic and lead guitar for “Metagoth” it was wonderful, the whole thing infused with a malevolent sheen that was deliciously unexpected.

For me, possibly the highlight was a beautiful “Drivin’ On 9”, which clopped along at a friendly pace; but in lieu of an actual violin player, Kelley had to vocalise the violin part, possibly prompting the largest applause of the night. Either that or watching Kim gurn her way through “Off You” as she seemed to wrestle with the guitar, playing it in the most awkward looking way but drawing forth such delights. In fact, after the violin episode, Kelley even took a lead vocal, but only according to Kim “because mom said so”. Kelley’s flashes of noise and light, and her joyful exuberance were lovely. She was constantly smiling, winding up Jo and the audience. Somehow she misheard an audience member and asked us what “Freeze your meat bag” meant… there is a Breeders’ track title if ever I heard one. Anyway, all of this allied to the band’s overall fiery delivery was a joy to behold. They finally closed out the set with a ragged take on “Gigantic”, Kim still at home playing the bass with Jo and Kelley taking it in turns to be Joey Santiago as Kim beamed at them with a wry smile.

They had been playing for about an hour and a half and motored through about twenty-ish songs, so I figured that was probably it — but due to the uproar that the crowd was creating, they returned and played three more songs; “Do You Love Me Now”, which was so great to hear; a heartfelt “Fortunately Gone” from Pod and a crazed and distorted “Saints”. As we let the sounds settle around us, the crazily grinning band dished out set lists to the rabid fans at the front, and slowly left the stage, waving and wishing us the best, basking in a lot of love.

Without a doubt, they are a better band now than twenty-five years ago, with a fantastic selection of songs from which to draw. This was so worth the heat and the sweat and the trip to Bristol. I kind of wanted to just go wherever they were headed and do it all over again. It was that special. Who knows what the future holds for The Breeders, but if you possibly have the chance to see them, grab it with both hands.

-Words: Mr Olivetti-
-Pictures: Michael Rodham-Heaps-