Pixies Tickets

Who the Pixies are

The Pixies are the Boston alternative rock band whose loud-quiet-loud songs (hushed verses that explode into shouted choruses) became a template for 1990s rock. Formed in January 1986 by Black Francis and Joey Santiago, with Kim Deal on bass and David Lovering on drums, they released Come On Pilgrim (1987), Surfer Rosa (1988), Doolittle (1989), Bossanova (1990) and Trompe le Monde (1991) before splitting in 1993.

Their US sales were modest at the time, but their influence was not. Kurt Cobain said that with "Smells Like Teen Spirit" he was "basically trying to rip off the Pixies," and David Bowie, Radiohead and Weezer all cited the band. Doolittle is certified platinum and Surfer Rosa gold, and "Where Is My Mind" reached a new generation through the 1999 film Fight Club. The band reunited in 2004 and has toured and recorded since, with Black Francis, Santiago and Lovering at the core.

What a Pixies concert is like

A Pixies show leans on the songs, and the catalog gives the band a deep pool to draw from: the five early records, the post-reunion albums and B-sides. The dynamics that defined the records are the point live; quiet verses really are quiet, so a crowd that chats through them works against the show.

The lineup has changed on bass. Kim Deal left in 2012, Kim Shattuck played the 2013 European tour, and Paz Lenchantin held the role from 2014 until early 2024, when Emma Richardson, formerly of Band of Skulls, joined. Fans who come for the original sound should know that Deal has not been part of the band since the 2010s.

The audience skews toward longtime fans, with a younger contingent who found the band through "Where Is My Mind" and streaming. Expect a standing, singing crowd on any general admission floor, and a more relaxed room in reserved seats.

Pixies tours, dated

Each run below is documented in the sources for this page. Current dates, if any, appear in the live event list.

• Early touring (1988 to 1992): European dates supporting Throwing Muses in 1988; a 1991 tour that played stadiums in Europe and smaller venues in the US; and the US leg of U2's Zoo TV Tour in 1992. The original run ended at the Commodore Ballroom in Vancouver on April 25, 1992.
• Reunion tour (2004): it opened April 13, 2004, at the Fine Line Music Cafe in Minneapolis. Nearly all of the first dates sold out within minutes, and the year included Coachella and a European run from Reykjavik to Chelmsford. The tour grossed more than 14 million US dollars, and Pitchfork later credited it with starting the indie reunion-tour circuit.
• Festivals (2005 to 2007): Lollapalooza and the Newport Folk Festival in 2005, then the band's first Australian shows in 2007.
• Doolittle 20th anniversary tour (2009 to 2010): the album played track for track with its B-sides, across Europe, North America, South America, Australia and New Zealand.
• Supporting Robert Plant (2015): a series of North American dates.
• Bossanova and Trompe le Monde tour (2024): a run celebrating the third and fourth albums, Richardson's first with the band, ahead of The Night the Zombies Came in October 2024.

The pattern is worth knowing: anniversary tours that feature a full classic album draw the heaviest demand, because the setlist is predictable and built around the records fans know best.

Where to sit or stand for the Pixies

The Pixies play a range of rooms, so check the seating map on each listing. These choices hold across most of them.

General admission floor

• Front and center: the most intense experience, with a pit that can get physical during the faster songs.
• Middle of the floor near the sound desk: the best-balanced mix, which matters for a band whose songs swing from near-silence to full volume.
• Back of the floor: space and easy exits, with a clear but more distant view of the stage.

Reserved seats

In theaters and amphitheaters, the lower tier facing the stage is the strongest choice; for a band whose appeal is the songs and the dynamics, closeness and sound count more than spectacle. Avoid extreme side seats near the stage, where the speaker stacks can block the view. In a balcony, the front rows of the center sections usually beat rear orchestra seats under an overhang, where sound gets muffled.

Festivals

At festival sets there are no seats. Stand in line with the center of the stage and a little behind the sound desk for the best sound.

How demand for Pixies tickets behaves

Pixies demand is steadier than spiky. Several structural factors explain it:

• A dedicated core audience. Longtime fans buy early, especially for anniversary or full-album shows.
• Hometown and big-market dates. Boston, New York, Los Angeles and London shows typically move first.
• Fan-club and artist presales. Many tours open with a presale tied to the band's mailing list or a promoter before the general on-sale; resale fills in once a show sells out.
• Room size. Smaller theaters sell out faster than amphitheaters on the same tour, so the same band can be scarce in one city and easy to get in the next.

Resale prices can sit above or below face value and often soften in the final days for weeknight shows. Every GoodSeats order is backed by a 100% guarantee. For band news, see the Pixies' official site.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Pixies (band)
• Pixies: Official site