Confirming that interest in the Pixies’ music has not waned since the band’s 1993 demise, 11 of the 12 shows scheduled for the group’s impending reunion tour sold out within minutes over the weekend.
At the 1,600-seat Prairieland venue in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, capacity has been doubled to accommodate additional fans.
“The demand has been so great,” Prairieland events manager Carl Schlosser told Billboard.com. “We are the largest venue, so we’ll be that overflow for fans who may have been shut out in other cities.” Tickets for the 12th show on April 29 in Davis, Calif., go on sale March 1.
The Pixies have logged several weeks of rehearsal in Los Angeles in preparation for the North American dates, which culminate May 1 at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, Calif. “We were all a little nervous when we first got together, but within maybe five minutes, everything felt completely comfortable, and it was like the last 11 years had never happened,” vocalist/guitarist Frank Black said in a statement.
Added bassist Kim Deal, “I experienced what I call ‘muscle memory’ – we’d be playing a song and I didn’t even have to think about what note came next – my fingers remembered what to play.”
Following Coachella, the group will take a short break before hitting Europe for festivals and headlining appearances. So far, confirmed dates begin with a June 2-5 stand at London’s Carling Brixton Academy and also include a June 11 appearance at the Super Bock Super Rock festival in Lisbon, two mid-June shows with the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Dublin and Paris and a July 10 set at the T in the Park festival in Kinross, U.K.