News / / 27.06.13

THE BREEDERS

The Forum | 19th June

When The Breeders released Last Splash in 1993 they couldn’t have guessed the impact it would make on their generation, let alone the generations to come. Now 20 years on, coinciding with the album’s reissue, the band played a special Don’t Look Back show to a sold out crowd in Kentish Town.

Kim Deal, Kelly Deal, Josephine Wiggs, Jim MacPherson and Carrie Bradley took the stage to an audience whose enthusiasm refused to be stifled by the oppressive warmth of the hottest day of the year. Kim calmly announced “So, we’re just going to go ahead and play Last Splash” – in case we hadn’t been paying attention – before kicking off with the ever charming New Year.

Kim’s voice has not lost an ounce of its earnest but playful tone, still hitting every note with that Kim Deal realness that everyone loves. And the crowd crowbarred into The Forum seriously love her, utterly losing their shit to heavy-hitting mega single Cannonball, which has become more of an era-defining anthem than the mere A-side of a seven inch. From the sheer devotion visible in the age-diverse audience, it’s fair to presume a fair few of them grabbed the single the first time around.

After blazing through the entirety of Last Splash at a solid pace, without as much chat as we’d hoped for up to this point, it suddenly became evident what the rush was in aid of, as Kim announced “So, we’ve been practicing while soundchecking and stuff like that, we wanted to do something special for London. So we’re going to play Pod.” The unexpected addition of the band’s debut full-length elevated excitement to euphoria, with the likes of the band’s version of Happiness is a Warm Gun – possibly the greatest Beatles cover ever – as well as personal favourite Hellbound..

With spirits as high as this, despite the inescapable heat of the night, fans can only hope this was just the beginning of a new chapter for Kim and co, whose absence has been long, and this show well overdue.

 

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breedersdigest.net

Words: Lucie Grace

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