November 12th 2024: The Jam

I grieved many years ago when the Pixies first broke up and went their separate ways. I loved their music – it just resonated with me during those all-important teenage years when you begin to learn who you really are. Plus, their album Surfer Rosa had a very sexy image of Kim Deal on it. Most of all I was gutted that I would never get to see them live. Then they came back together in the 2010s and played in Christchurch. Box ticked and they were better than I could have ever imagined.

For my wife Rachael, Pearl Jam is her jam. She loves the Pixies, too. So to have the doubleheader at Mt Smart Stadium is pretty much perfect for us. And so that saw us travel to Auckland this past week. A few days of work and a large night of Pearl Jam and the Pixies, which was purely for recreation. No photos, sorry.

The Pixies were flawless with a small early set that kicked off the warm clear Auckland night beautifully. I still can't believe how talented they are and how good they sound after more than 30 years. Their early songs are still their best in my opinion – they were written and developed before they had the pressure of stardom and expectation. I think there is something in that. Most of the best grunge bands through the '90s credit the Pixies with influencing them.

Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam were always more mainstream than the Pixies. You could see the gaps in the crowd fill in for their set. And they didn't disappoint. Eddie is a surfer and famously got rescued at Piha last time he was here. He also stands up for some big issues facing our world. He wrote and performed the soundtrack for the 2007 movie Into The Wild and regularly gets behind issues of consumption and climate change. He's a very likable guy. Without actually saying it, he kind of apologised for the Trump election outcome. He reminded the audience that New Zealand was small, and clean and had the right people to lead into the future. However, it didn't seem like he was across some of the most recent developments here, like our fast-track policy or the unbelievable threat of Te Tiriti o Waitangi destruction.

Auckland itself did a superb job of moving so many tens of thousands of Generation X 50-year-old kids through its streets. The tickets came with free transport on the trains and buses around town – a master stroke that meant getting to and from Mt Smart Stadium was a breeze in both directions. I was so proud of the way my generation partied so hard and with such good vibes all night long. These were some seriously cool kids back in the day ...

See you at the beach ... Derek

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