The Pixies, from left, Kim Shattuck, Joey Santiago, Black Francis and David Lovering, pose for a portrait in New York. The band will be touring in 2014 and is a likely contender for the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. (AP Photo)
Happy Monday and happy start of the official Coachellaology season. I’m putting my money on alternative music gods The Pixies being high up on the lineup at the 2014 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at the Empire Polo Club in Indio.
Why?
1. The band, which originally formed in Boston, is back together (minus Kim Deal, plus the amazing Kim Shattuck of The Muffs) and released new material in September.
2. The Pixies have a history at Coachella. The band’s big reunion happened at Coachella back in 2004. In fact, let’s watch “Caribou” from that performance.
3. The band released 2014 tour dates this morning. The band does Northern California and Las Vegas and Arizona in late February, but has no Southern California dates listed. Those cities are typically the neighbors of any SoCal shows when it comes to tour routing. There aren’t even open dates for SoCal shows to be added later.
This is what makes me think The Pixies are a lock for Coachella.
The good news is that with no Central Coast shows listed, either, I think there could be some special Pixies gigs before and in between the twin Coachellas, which are set for April 11-13 and April 18-20, 2014.
4. Never underestimate the power of The Pixies. Most of the bands that have played Coachella over the years wouldn’t exist without The Pixies.
Here’s my biggest question about the band being on the lineup: Are The Pixies strong enough to be a headliner, or are they a better fit as the penultimate act on the main stage? Discuss in the comments below.
I’ve covered the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and the Stagecoach Country Music Festival since 2007. All of the Coachella prediction posts here are tagged with Coachellaology.
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Previous Coachella 2014 picks and ponderings from the Audio File and readers:
Oct. 2, 2013: Paul McCartney, Luscious Jackson
Aug. 2, 2013: Neutral Milk Hotel
June 16, 2013: The Replacements