Indie-rock legends Pavement played their first show in 12 years last night at The Fonda Theatre in Los Angeles, CA. The concert kicked off the band’s highly anticipated reunion tour, which will include shows in the U.S., Europe, and Japan.
Stephen Malkmus, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Bob Nastanovich, Mark Ibold, and Steve West took the stage joined by Wild Flag‘s Rebecca Cole on keyboards. The band treated fans to a lengthy 23-song set that lasted over two hours and featured songs not played in more than two decades. The set opened with “Our Singer” and “Frontwards” before the band launched into the first performances of “Embassy Row” and “Black Out” since 1997, per Setlist.fm. The show also included “Harness Your Hopes”, the band’s most-streamed song on Spotify, and several other songs that had not been performed since the ’90s, including “Transport Is Arranged”, “Serpentine Pad”, “Fame Throwa”, and more.
After concluding their set, Pavement returned for not one but two encores. The first consisted of “Shady Lane”, “Unfair”, “Grave Architecture”, “Major League”, and “Summer Babe”, and the second, more concise encore featured “Here” and the band’s live debut of Jim Pepper‘s “Witchi Tai To”.
Formed in 1989 in Stockton, CA by Stephen Malkmus and Scott Kannberg, known originally only as “S.M.” and “Spiral Stairs”, Pavement was one of the most influential bands to emerge from the ’90s indie/underground music scene. The group disbanded in 1999 but reunited for a reunion tour in 2010 that was well received by critics and fans. Monday’s show at The Fonda was the band’s first performance since that tour, and it served as a preview of their upcoming world tour.
View photos and videos of Pavement’s performance at The Fonda below, along with the show setlist and the band’s upcoming tour dates. For more information, visit the band’s website.
Setlist [via Setlist.fm]: Pavement | The Fonda Theatre | Los Angeles, CA | 5/23/2022
Set: Our Singer, Frontwards, Embassy Row [1], Black Out [1], Trigger Cut, Kennel District, Spit on a Stranger, Gold Soundz, Transport Is Arranged [1], Serpentine Pad [2], Motion Suggests [2], Two States, The Hexx, Shoot the Singer, Grounded, Harness Your Hopes [3], Silence Kid, Cut Your Hair, Type Slowly [1] [4], Perfume-V, Fame Throwa [5], Range Life, Folk Jam [3]
[1] First time played since 1997
[2] First time played since 1996
[3] First time played since 1999
[4] With extended jam
[5] First time played since 1993
[6] Live debut by Pavement
Pavement 2022 Tour Dates:
Thursday, June 2 Primavera Sound, Barcelona ES
Friday, June 10 NOS Primavera Sound, Porto PT
Wednesday, September 7 Balboa Theatre, San Diego CA (SOLD OUT)
Thursday, September 8, Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles CA (SOLD OUT)
Friday, September 9 Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles CA (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, September 10 Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles CA (SOLD OUT)
Monday, September 12 The Masonic, San Francisco CA
Tuesday, September 13 The Masonic, San Francisco CA
Wednesday, September 14 The Masonic, San Francisco CA
Friday, September 16 Edgefield Amphitheatre, Troutdale OR
Saturday, September 17 The Paramount Theatre, Seattle WA (SOLD OUT)
Monday, September 19 Paramount Theatre, Denver CO
Tuesday, September 20 Uptown Theater, Kansas City MO
Wednesday, September 21 The Palace Theatre, St. Paul MN
Thursday, September 22 Chicago Theatre, Chicago IL (SOLD OUT)
Friday, September 23, Chicago Theatre IL
Saturday, September 24 Masonic Cathedral Theatre, Detroit MI (SOLD OUT)
Monday, September 26 Massey Hall, Toronto ON (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday, September 27, Massey Hall, Toronto ON
Wednesday, September 28 Boch Center Wang Theatre, Boston MA (SOLD OUT)
Friday, September 30 Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, October 1 Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, October 2 Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY (SOLD OUT)
Monday, October 3, Kings Theatre, Brooklyn NY
Wednesday, October 5 The Met, Philadelphia PA (SOLD OUT)
Thursday, October 6 Warner Theatre, Washington DC (SOLD OUT)
Saturday, October 8 The Eastern, Atlanta GA (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, October 9 The Eastern, Atlanta GA (SOLD OUT)
Monday, October 10, 3Ten At ACL Live, Austin TX (SOLD OUT)
Tuesday, October 11 ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Austin TX (SOLD OUT)
Monday, October 17th 02 Academy, Leeds UK
Tuesday, October 18th Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow UK (SOLD OUT)
Wednesday October 19th Usher Hall, Edinburgh UK
Thursday, October 20th 02 Apollo, Manchester UK
Saturday, October 22nd Roundhouse, London UK (SOLD OUT)
Sunday, October 23rd Roundhouse, London UK
Monday, October 24th Roundhouse, London UK
Tuesday, October 25th Roundhouse, London UK
Thursday, October 27th Le Grand Rex, Paris FR
Saturday, October 29th Vega, Copenhagen DK
Sunday, October 30th Sentrum Scene, Oslo NO
Monday, October 31st SE Cirkus, Stockholm SE
Wednesday, November 2nd VoxHall, Aarhus DK
Friday, November 4th Pier 2, Bremen DE
Saturday, November 5th Tempodrom, Berlin DE
Monday, November 7th Cirque Royal, Brussels BE
Tuesday, November 8th Royal Carré Theater, Amsterdam NL
Thursday, November 10th Vicar Street, Dublin IE (SOLD OUT)
Friday, November 11th Vicar Street, Dublin IE (SOLD OUT)
Wednesday, February 15 Tokyo Dome City Hall, Tokyo JP
Thursday, February 16 Tokyo Dome City Hall, Tokyo JP
Saturday, February 18 Namba Hatch, Osaka JP
