The Pixies broke up in 1993. Which makes LoudQUIETLoud a film about a reunion tour. And if the band is almost anyone besides the Pixies, skipping the reunion tour is advisable (Bruce Springsteen? KISS?). However, the Pixies are not just any band. For the six years between 1987 and 1993, the Pixies were the poster children of alt-punk-rock (even before such a label existed). The opening screen text of LoudQUIETLoud quotes Kurt Cobain referring to “Smells Like Teen Spirit" as his attempt to rip off the Pixies. If you have never heard of Nirvana or the Pixies, stop reading now.
The film begins with a little background (very little, since you should know this!) and then launches into where each band member was when the reunion was conceived. Although conceived implies a group decision, in true Pixies style it was Charles “Black Francis/Frank Black" Thompson and Kim Deal who seem to have agreed to go back on the road. Drummer David Lovering and Joey Santiago (lead guitarist) simply fall in line. The reunion offers each member something of which they are in need: money, creative outlet, and self-esteem to name a few. The opening pre-show toast is “Don’t Screw Up."
Producers Steven Cantor and Daniel Laikind (Devil’s Playground, Willie Nelson:
Still is Still Moving) forgo high drama (not that the Pixies have much) and false tension, and simply show the day-to-day life of a band with mid-life issues. Charles is almost divorced, printing out the papers during that tour as soon as he finds out that his current girlfriend is pregnant. Kim appropriately focuses lots of attention on her continued recovery. Joey divides himself between scoring a film in between tour dates and chatting to his two children nightly over the video phone. And David attempts to cope with his elderly father’s illness.
LoudQUIETLoud never lets the audience forget that this is film about a band whose music has become required listening. Although Cantor and Laikind spend lots of time backstage and in the tour bus, it’s the shots of shows that remind you why you’re watching the film. From the first note of the “warm-up" show in Minneapolis, the crowd knows every damn word. As soon as Charles launches into “U-Mass" (the opening song of the first show), the auditorium loses it, and some of those watching the film might even get a little teary.
The remarkable thing that comes through by this approach is the single-minded unity that is the Pixies onstage. Backstage, everyone is an individual, with their own problems, concerns and quirks. But once the Pixies step on the stage, they gel, they become something greater than the sum of their parts, and that presence is what keeps their fans intrigued.
Kelley Deal (twin sister of Kim) polls a crowd waiting to get into a British show, asking them “Why did the Pixies break up?" The most common response was, “They were too good and had nowhere left to go." The average age of the fans appears to be 19.
In comparison with their previous incarnation, the Pixies of today are older, wiser and quite a bit more sober. The film never tries to idolize or inflate – a scene of Kim Deal icing her blistered hands after an early show while commenting that the crowd’s enthusiasm was “fucking freaking her out" is a good example. Or the first practice session, in which an iPod is produced to remind the band how the song actually goes. And there is no real mention of the acrimonious breakup in 1993, no reconciliation, no heart-felt discussion, just a “let the past be the past" mentality.
Which becomes the single frustrating part of the film. This is a band in need of some serious talk therapy. Scenes of members sitting silently next to each other abound. “We don’t talk to each other that much – it’s just the kind of people that we are," Charles says. A few scenes later, Kelley wisely comments: “You guys [the band] are the worst four communicators ever." It’s almost an understatement. Even when David is wrestling with substance abuse, the band can barely manage a five-minute discussion about it.
As a whole, LoudQUIETLoud is a loving look at the reality that is the Pixies today. There are heartwarming moments to the film, small amounts of insight into the band members, and lots of great music. For those who miss the Pixies, or those who missed the Pixies the first time, LoudQUIETLoud provides front-row standing room.
LoudQUIETLoud is at the N.W. Film Center from Oct. 27 ?” Oct. 29