The Breeders - 90's Grunge / Alternative Rock

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Breeding the Dayton Alternative Rock sound in Bristol

(Bristol Sounds Festival)

The Breeders **** have been around, on and off, since 1989 but very much on since the classic lineup of Kim and Kelley Deal with bassist Josephine and drummer Jim got back together in 2013. They’ve been on a UK tour which is coming to a close tonight in Bristol, in what is also the conclusion of that wonderful Bristol Sounds festival for another year. Kim is sixty three years young this year and would be classed among the Alternative Rock royalty having been in The Pixies too.

The audience had been a bit sparse throughout the day, probably due to the football being on at 5pm, but it seems people weren’t going to miss the headline act and they certainly made the right decision. The crowd and the band were in sync from opening number ‘Saints’ right to the end. They’ve always had a sound that sets them apart from other bands of their era, creating a unique more offbeat sound. Partly down to the distinctive vocal style, which unsurprisingly is similar to The Pixies. In having parts of the songs, which are slightly spoken rather than sung.

There’s also a wonderful quirkiness to their music too, playing around with styles such as having two bassists at times. The Breeders are always keen to try something a little bit different while keeping that Alternative Rock sound at their core. Talking of bass, their biggest hit has probably one of the most instantly recognizable baselines opening the track with ‘Canonball’, The track even has its own distorted mic only used for that song – don’t forget the whistle too. I certainly spent too many evenings bounding around the indie clubs of the 90’s with that as part of the soundtrack. But the crowd was an interesting mix of ages, not just washed up ex-Indie kids, such as myself.

The last song of the main set was ‘Gigantic’ the song that Kim wrote and sung originally for the Pixies. I think the English countryside may have been a bit of a shock for them though, the road from Glastonbury was apparently ‘scary’, guessing English country lanes don’t quite match up to the interstate. Also there seemed to be a geographic mix up whereby a rivalry between Bristol and Brighton was created. Maybe we can start one, though being the two places that vote for Green politicians, it seems they have more in common than against.

The evening soon drew in and the encore opened with ‘Walking with a  Killer’, before a cover of ‘Happiness is a warm Gun’. ‘Lime House’ got a very good reception and was one more chance for those at the front to have a bounce. It seemed to end quite abruptly though, I’d speculate they hit curfew as they seemed to just put the instruments down and this didn’t chime with the vibe of the rest of the set. Shame it had to fizzle to an end, by no fault of the band, but it was an evening of euphoric tunes. Can’t wait to see who they have for Sounds next year. 

Review by Jon Cooper and Steve Owen (Icarus Photography)

The Breeders - Setlist
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Saints
Wait in the Car
Doe
Invisible Man
Safari
When I was a Painter
Night of Joy
Disobedience
No Aloha
Huffer
Off You
Hag
I just wanna get Along
Only in 3's
Do you love me Now?
New Year
Cannonball
Drivin' on 9 (Ed’s Redeeming Qualities Cover)
Opened
MetaGoth
Gigantic (Pixies Cover)
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Walking with a Killer
Divine Hammer
Happiness is a warm Gun (The Beatles Cover)
Lime House
Iris

Check Out! the Video for 'Cannonball' Below...