Video History: Pixies & Throwing Muses

I remember my first time seeing both of these bands at a club called Axis on Lansdowne Street in Boston back in the Fall of 1987 (I think, it's all a little blurry). It was a double bill and there were about 50 to 75 fans there. Surfer Rosa was being pushed hard by Newbury Comics and WFNX had both bands on the radio constantly. The show was a revelation. I was already into the Muses green self-titled record (the song Green Eyes was a personal fave) and their set did not disappoint at all with its manic electrified take on folk music. Audience members were reaching onto the stage writing their own requests onto the band's set list (I still have one somewhere!). Kristen Hersch is an enchanting front person with her eyes locked on the back of the room she seems to be looking straight through you when she channels her songs. Tawnya plays the cute coy young thing next to her intellectual older 'sister'. I was in heaven after there set. The Pixies came on and proceeded to frighten me out of my hazy happiness with a jarring and aggressive set that sounded like nothing I'd ever heard before. My musical world would never be the same after that night. This video is a little after that time frame but it brought me back and I thought it would be fun to share. Enjoy. Frank Black is an arrogant hoot throughout!