On the hipster Richter scale, a Pavement reunion rates a 10-plus. It’s a good job that Steve Malkmus and co have the tunes to back up all the indier-than-thou credentials, otherwise they’d be insufferable. The magic that gives Pavement songs their power comes from a combination of off-kilter rhythms, naggingly catchy melodies and Malkmus’s wonderful lyrics.
It’s fair to say that tonight, the singer lets the words of the songs do the talking for him – he appears to spend most of the gig in a huff, and literally only says one word all night, a muted "thanks" at the start of the first encore. Oddly, the first section of the gig also finds him disappearing backstage intermittently, like some indie Axl Rose.
But no matter – here be great tunes. The gorgeous 'Shady Lane' (with its cracking line "Tell me off right in front of all the bellboys/And the over friendly concierge"), the uproarious 'Stereo' and the affecting 'Summer Babe' all demonstrate that Pavement were one of the finest US alternative bands of the '90s. As well as short and sharp quirk-pop nuggets, they are also capable of rustling up a rousing epic, as evidenced by the magnificent ‘In The Mouth A Desert’.
The final encore finds auxiliary percussionist Bob Nastanovich – who throughout the gig also regularly departs his drum-kit to scream wildly into a mic – slow-dancing with his wife, as the band weave their way through the dreamy and beautiful 'We Dance'.
Truly, we end the evening feeling slanted and enchanted.