[Our fearless team, Nicci Boots and Ian McNeil spent three days listening to an obscene amount of fantastic music above the stunning Columbia River Gorge in George, Washington. Check out all our coverage here, over 30 sets from a who's who list of indie music.]
Pavement didn’t really show up for their show on Sunday night. Sure, they were present on the stage, and music was played, but for the most part, it wasn’t a show at all. That day had been Stephen Malkmus’ birthday, and it seemed clear the group had celebrated with lots of boozin’. And that’s all good and fine, but drunk and unprepared is no way to bring your reunion tour to the festival.
Twice, Malkmus stopped the song they were playing, midway through, and cursed about malfunctions. When things were working okay, the band put on a performance that felt like nothing more than a practice session. That was somewhat appealing; it was like we were experiencing something not many crowds will get to see with Pavement. And it also added to their aloof nature. Sadly, probably the best moment of the set was when Malkmus gave a cheers to the Oregonians at the festival.
So maybe it wasn’t a terrible showing, but it was also one that lasted for far too long – the group played well over their time slot, pushing Massive Attack’s set back. I’m happy I got to see the band reunited, but I’m also hoping they get their shit together for the rest of the tour.
