Pixies Bring Unfussy Anniversary Set to Royal Albert Hall

There was little ceremony when Pixies walked out for their 40th anniversary show. Black Francis raised a mug of tea toward the crowd, offered one of the night’s only verbal acknowledgements, and the band got straight to work. The Royal Albert Hall’s ornate setting didn’t soften the directness that has always been theirs. It just gave those quiet-loud dynamics and sideways melodies a more formal backdrop.

Support came from GANS, the Black Country group whose industrial dance-punk, threaded with flute and saxophone, rattled the room’s usual composure. Frontman Euan Woodman grumbled about a stiff crowd, then coaxed the floor into not one but two circle pits. By the time they finished, the venue felt less like a seated institution.

Pixies moved through songs like Here Comes Your Man and Gouge Away with the same clipped force they’ve always carried. The newer material from The Night The Zombies Came fit seamlessly. Emma Richardson, who joined on bass in 2024, handled the vocals on In Heaven, a track long associated with Kim Deal. Her version captured the song’s eerie lilt without mimicry. Joey Santiago dragged his flat cap across guitar strings to draw out ragged noise, and David Lovering’s drumming remained the anchor. There was no nostalgia pageantry, just the music doing what it has reliably done for four decades.