Back in 2019, my wife (hereafter referred to as “Mom”) and I saw Pixies perform at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines. They were on tour with Weezer, and they played on a Thursday night in April. That meant we were unable to take our daughter (“Kiddo”) with us, and she’s still mad about it.
Since then, Weezer has remained near the top of Kiddo’s “concert revenge list,” but I'm happy to say that we’ve been able to scratch Pixies off. All three of us made the trip to Waukee this June to see Pixies, Modest Mouse and Cat Power at Vibrant Music Hall.
And, while this could be an article about Live Nation and whether it's good or evil, its "significant stake" in live events in Iowa or that it's the subject of an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Department of Justice, it isn't. We'll save that article for another day.
This is an article about one family in Iowa, enjoying music across the age divide, at a moment when Kiddo and parents end one chapter and begin the next: as a teenage household.
Music runs deep
Kiddo is no stranger to live music, mostly thanks to events we've dragged her to. She’s seen Fitz and The Tantrums, Spoon and OK Go, all at smallish venues. She’s been to several of Iowa’s outdoor music festivals, including 80/35, Hinterland and Lost Woods. Oh, and she and Mom also saw JoJo Siwa a few years ago... What can I say? It was a different time for Kiddo (and JoJo, for that matter).
Kiddo and I also have a surprising amount of overlap in our musical taste. She got into a lot of bands we play on IPR Studio One because, well... those bands' songs were popular on TikTok (ironically, this was around the time I started getting into some big-name pop artists because they performed at NPR’s Tiny Desk). Someone, somewhere on TikTok used the Pixies classic “Where Is My Mind?” in a video, and we’ve had fun playing that song on guitar together since.
Of course, Mom and I have a shared love of music that’s helped sustain our relationship for nearly 25 years. We don’t always like the same music, but we complement each other well. I was only a little aware of Pixies when we started dating, but she got me into them full bore. Doolittle and Bossanova were the soundtracks to many road trips. We both got into Modest Mouse at the same time, thanks largely to their 2000 album The Moon & Antarctica. And we’ve been to many concerts together, including Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Ben Folds, Phish (yup, I was that guy for a while) and many more.
The opportunity to see two of our favorite bands at the same time was too much for Mom and I to resist. It’s a brilliant double bill. Both are groundbreaking alternative rock bands and they’re both known for the dynamics in their music and their huge melodies. I’d also missed Cat Power’s performance at Mission Creek last year, so this was also a chance to scratch her off of my own “concert revenge” list. It was no trouble at all to convince Kiddo to join us. Even when we told her the venue was standing room only, she just shrugged and said, “Okay!” I take that as a good sign that Kiddo will have a long concert-going career ahead of her.
Showtime
Our family arrived about an hour before showtime. Vibrant is a beautiful venue, and it seemed full, but I have no idea if it was a sold-out show. While the crowd skewed older, there were quite a few younger folks, including plenty who were about Kiddo’s age. As we waited for Cat Power to start, we talked about Kiddo’s dream concerts (Arctic Monkeys, Tyler the Creator), her thoughts on Taylor Swift (“mid”) and her opinions on her classmates’ musical taste (for obvious reasons, that conversation's been redacted).
Cat Power took the stage right around 6:30 p.m., the show’s announced start time. She’s known as a strong interpreter of other artists’ songs, so it was fitting that five of the nine songs that she performed were covers, including a nearly-unrecognizable take on the Rolling Stones’ “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” She also played a version of The Replacements song “Here Comes A Regular,” which appeared on her recent Covers album, and her original songs “The Greatest” and “Wanderer.” It should go without saying, but Cat Power’s voice is amazing, and she was in fine form for the entire performance.
Of the three of us, I was the most into Cat Power’s set. But I also spent the whole time stealing sideways glances at Mom and Kiddo, trying to get a sense of whether they were having fun. They both liked her, but thought she was an overly “chill” way to start the evening.
Modest Mouse was the next band to take the stage. I almost didn’t recognize frontman Isaac Brock right away. He looked dapper in a blazer and white-collared shirt (all six members of Modest Mouse each look like they came from a different band — it’s pretty wild!). Mom and I were immediately in heaven. Kiddo doesn’t really know any of their songs other than maybe “Float On” (everyone knows that one, right?). I think she was enjoying show, but she was getting antsy, more eager for Pixies to start.
Modest Mouse got off to a slow-burn start with “The Stars Are Projectors,” and soon got rolling with a couple of their biggest rockers, “Dashboard” and “Fire It Up.” The final song of the night was a legendary performance of the epic song “Spitting Venom.” I had a wish list of several Modest Mouse songs that I was hoping to hear that they didn't play, but that’s fine: it’s always good to leave wanting more! That said, according to Setlist.fm, they had “Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes” written on their setlist but didn’t play it. Not gonna lie, that would have ruled.
The band’s set really gave me a whole new appreciation for them musically, which I know sounds weird from someone who’s listened to them a lot. It was also a great set for the variety of instruments played, as banjos, trumpets and lap steel guitars all made appearances. I knew they were great musicians, but it’s a whole other thing to experience it in person. I came away saying to myself “Dang, these guys can play.”
They’re not f***ing around.
That left Pixies, who took the stage at 9:10 p.m., about four hours after doors opened. Mom and Kiddo were both screaming with excitement. Emma Richardson of Band Of Skulls is the Pixies’ current bass player. She replaced Paz Lenchantin back in March. She’s the fourth bass player in the band’s history: the longest-tenured, of course, is the legendary Kim Deal, and many longtime fans don’t consider it to be Pixies without her.
The band’s set drew heavily from the Pixies’ classic era, when Deal was still with the band. Mom called it her “dream setlist,” and she wasn’t alone: I heard someone behind me saying “They’re not f***ing around.” I was standing next to Kiddo for the whole set, and a couple of moments will stay with me forever.
First, both of us watched in awe as Mom jumped up and down for the duration of “Is She Weird,” singing along the entire time. “I’ve never seen Mom like that!” Kiddo said at least twice. (For the record, Mom felt fine the next day. Gen Xers, don’t be a hero: take some pain medication before bed.)
And then, for their second to last song, Pixies came through with “Where Is My Mind?” Kiddo has heard the song enough times that she recognized it before the iconic electric guitar kicked in. It was her turn to jump up and down, screaming “I’m gonna cry!” To her credit, she did not pull out her phone to record the moment — she just experienced it. I also have to shout out the younger folks in the crowd, who largely defied stereotypes about their generation and didn’t spend the entire time taking videos and pictures.
One more moment that was special for the whole crowd: Pixies aren’t known for being a very interactive band. They pretty much just play their songs and don’t acknowledge the crowd very much. But there was a moment at the beginning of “Here Comes Your Man” where frontman Frank Black realized his guitar was still in an alternate tuning. He brought everything to a halt with a sheepish look on his face, tuned up and then they played the UK mix of “Wave of Mutilation” to make sure they were good to go. It was a remarkably human moment from one of the most influential bands of all time. I’m glad we got to see it.
As soon as the lights came up, and it was clear the evening was over, everyone was overcome with the feeling of “happy tired” that only happens in moments like this. We grabbed some shirts and said hi to some folks (Mom and I both saw old friends at this show), and then we introduced Kiddo to the time-honored post-concert tradition: grabbing some snacks at the nearest gas station before heading back to the hotel and crashing.
Everyone’s ready for another concert, but nobody knows when it’s going to be. Mom and I are keeping our eyes peeled for more of our favorite artists, but the school year is underway, so we can’t drop everything on a Wednesday and go to a show. And Kiddo has already asked when she might be able to go to a concert without us. But I’m not ready for that conversation yet.
Now about that Weezer concert...
