Pixies Bring 'Doolittle' Show to New York City

The Pixies breathed new life into familiar material when they performed all of their 1989 album 'Doolittle,' as well as its related B-sides, last night in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom. The seminal alt-rock act produced video footage especially for the set, which they will repeat during three additional shows at the venue over the next two days. The concert kicked off with the tracks 'Dancing the Manta Ray,' 'Weird at My School' and 'Bailey's Walk' with bassist Kim Deal joking that the songs were so rare, the band had to relearn them.

The Pixies then launched into the 20-year-old album, performing 'Doolittle' in its entirety in front of large video screens and giant floating globes (which began to glow red and move across the stage during 'I Bleed'). Deal took on the role of the announcer during the concert, with leader Black Francis (aka Frank Black) and guitarist Joey Santiago stoically playing next to her in all black. "Can't skip any of them!" she said of the album's tracks.

The cinematic projections ranged from footage of the band members bobbing their heads to 'Wave of Mutilation' to black-and-white shots of a monkey -- naturally -- during 'Monkey Gone to Heaven.' One of the evening's highlights was the exuberant performance of 'La La Love You' with drummer David Lovering belting out the song's lyrics as images of scampering hearts being chased by arrows aired behind him.

The Pixies also played several tracks not related to 'Doolittle' -- including hits 'Where Is My Mind?' and 'Gigantic' -- to considerable applause. After wrapping up the performance of their influential disc, the four members gathered to the center of the stage and put their arms around each other to take a bow. Meanwhile, the video projections continued to show the Pixies bowing repeatedly to cheers from the audience, which lasted long after the band had left the stage.