173 THE PIXIES, Gloucester Leisure Centre, Monday 15 October 1990

Preparations for this one started out badly, with news of Pixies vocalist Black Francis suffering from nervous exhaustion, which actually made the local TV news! Assured the gig was going ahead, we drove down but suffered a traffic jam and a car-park mare into the bargain! Met up with the posse in the pub beforehand, so missed support Barkmarket.

As for The Pixies, they played well; a less "rocking" set than I'd have liked, perhaps to be expected though due to Black Francis' collapse the previous night. However the old boy soldiered on through a set which featured way more good than bad; "Velouria" and "Allison" were stunning, and the climax "Vamos" shows that, even with one man ailing, they can still cut it as a pure primal rock force. Still a worthwhile night out!