Pixies w/Basement (all-ages, 8pm)

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Photo credit: Summerfest

When The Pixies finally reunited in 2004, to great fanfare, they probably didn’t expect to still be on the road together 14 years later. These days they have some new songs to play: After bassist Kim Deal left the band in 2013, they released a pair of full lengths, 2014’s uneven Indie Cindy and 2016’s much-better Head Carrier. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the new music was received with cold reviews; there was no way any new music from the band could live up to enigmatic albums like Surfer Rosa or Doolittle, flawless LPs that helped lay the groundwork for an entire generation of alternative and indie bands. Nonetheless, Head Carrier in particular is the work of a band that, at the very least, is enjoying themselves. It may not be a classic, but after all these years, it’s reassuring that The Pixies still sound like The Pixies. The band dug deep into their songbook when they last played Milwaukee in July at Summerfest, sharing all sorts of loud and weird deep cuts from their early years. If they keep that intensity up, fans at this show are in for a treat.