Music/News: 16 Apr 2004
The Hot Press Newsdesk

Groove Armada confirmed for Phoenix Park bill

Groove Armada will be playing Phoenix Park alongside the Chili Peppers, The Thrills and The Pixies, who for their part, played their first reunion gig this week in the US

Groove Armada are the latest additions to the increasingly eclectic bill for the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Phoenix Park extravaganza on June 12.

They join the Chili's other guests The Thrills and The Pixies who kicked off their eagerly awaited reunion tour on April 14 at the 500-capacity Fine Line Music Café in Mineappolis.

Flanked by stalls selling 'Pixies Sellout' t-shirts, the band managed to pack 27 songs into their fast and furious 90-minute set.

According to the man from the Mineappolis Star Tribune, $30 tickets were changing hands for upto $400 before the show which was The Pixies' first public performance in 11 years.

"Only one song from each of their two final albums were played, while three-quarters of their first two LPs and even a big chunk of their little-heard 1986 debut EP were offered," he reports. "The crowd howled along to obscure oldies such as 'Broken Face' and 'Levitate Me' as readily as it did to latter staples such as 'Here Comes Your Man' and 'U Mass'.

"The few comments made by band members fitted the self-depreciating tone of the t-shirts. When Black Francis struggled to tune his guitar before 'Vamos', he remarked, 'This is starting to seem like our first gig.' Francis' scream of a voice was in great shape and he and Deal – who were at odds with each other all these years – could still harmonise like best buddies."