Messy and Brilliant: Pavement in Paradiso, May 9 2009

It was as Stephen Malkmus said a weird day in Amsterdam. Piles of trash all over the city due to a strike by garbagemen and also the start of the Tour of Italy. 200 well trained guys on bikes who cycled through Amsterdam on a cold and cloudy day. This city can do that to you at times, show you how what messiness looks like while at the same time having some guys on bikes racing as no one else on this globe can. Maybe it was fitting that Pavement’s reunion tour brought them to the Paradiso on this day.

Pavement’s status as one of indie rock’s greatest band of the 90’s is without a doubt. Their first two albums “Slanted & Enchanted” and “Crooked Rain Crooked Rain” are classics and their follow-up albums are all if high-quality. After ten years they reformed and are now touring again. As their opener they had invited their onetime label mates Bettie Serveert who were Holland’s premier indie band in the 90s. Bettie Serveert never disbanded and have made beautiful records up to this day. Playing a selection of songs from their entire career they were good, though the high volume at times muddled their sound. But it was good to see them at work again.

Pavement’s setlist was also a greatest hits show. In a long set they played songs from all their albums so there were songs for every type of fan: The early ones from S&E and CRCR, their later “Brighten the Corners” fans and also quite a few young fans who were only around 8 years old by the time they disbanded. Pavement still didn’t seem to really be trying to be excellent but in good Pavement tradition it worked well. The band at times was sloppy and messy making you want to hear what they could really sound like. But face it, that is Pavement. If it was perfect it would not have been Pavement. The genius of the band shone through at moments, mostly later in the set. A great version of ‘Range Life’, a perfect rendition of their non-album single ‘Give it a Day’ and closer ‘Here’. ‘Here’ is a perfect pop song but almost improvisational in it’s live version.

Pavement was like the city was today. Messy but at times showing why in their field they are the best in the world.

Pavement - A Personal History

Pigs The Tend To Whiggle When They Walk

I guess Pavement fans have always been different. Maybe not the most social and certainly not the most mainstream people. Lovers of good alternative music but not necessarily sharing a need to show this to the outside world. They were called slackers, and were not wearing the designer clothing but also not wearing the metal spikes. They could easily have worked in an office or library and were never a “threat to society”.

Pavement played a big role in my teenage years. My first introduction to the band was in 1994 with the single ‘Cut Your Hair’ and album “Crooked Rain Crooked Rain”. CRCR to this day remains my favorite. It still has the lo-fi wackiness of “Slanted & Enchanted” but already showed glimpses of finely tuned songs on later albums. In my case it is the same as with many other fans, the first Pavement album you heard is your favorite and will carve out a part in your personal history.

I didn’t know a lot of Pavement fans in high school, in fact I didn’t really know anyone who shared my taste in music, apart from the friends who I introduced it to. But I didn’t care, it was good to have something you love just for yourself sometimes.

Pavement didn’t seem to care about how songs should be played or written. CRCR didn’t really start like ‘Nevermind’ or ‘Highway 61’ did. You were lured into an album that seemed to have been there for some time already. The structure of the songs was strange, the chords were strange and the two drummers were just plain weird. And the lyrics? Well, you knew they were highly intelligent but you also had no clue what Malkmus was singing about. But it seemed to work. It was how I wanted to be. Don’t do a lot of things but give the world pure brilliance when you decided it was time to give it to them. And then be laconic about it.

1994 was a special year. Jon Spencer blasted away his blues riffs on ‘Orange’, Lou Barlow showed his genius on Sebadoh’s “Bakesale” and former bandmate J Mascis sped up a chorus like I had never heard before on Dinosaur’s ‘Feel the Pain’. Shellac’s “At Action Park” let me hear how music could also be made and Weezer’s first album I played endlessly walking to school. It might be because 94 was such a special year for me that all these albums still rank amongst my favorites. All are still around 16 years later as well and still making worthwhile music. All apart from Pavement. After 3 more albums the disbanded.

But yay! The slacker, early 30’s generation, finally has it’s equivalent of Led Zeppelin reunion. Pavement are now on a comeback tour of sorts and have released a compilation album called “Quarantine the past”. It has the hits and a few not-so-hits but that very much show the band Pavement was. Of course there are songs you miss (personally I think ‘Give it a Day’ should be on there). The tracklisting is just as irratic as the band’s albums, and it should be. Every Pavement fan, from the early Slanted-fans to their last albums will be happy with the CD.