THE BREEDERS at the Danforth Music Hall, Saturday, May 11. Rating: NNN
For the 20th anniversary of Last Splash, the Breeders are doing everything they can to recreate the hit record live. All original members are participating, including violinist Carrie Bradley bassist Josephine Wiggs switches to drums for a song, as she did in the studio they sample the Minimoog used on the record. “We even brought the wind chimes,” frontwoman Kim Deal told us proudly, pointing to a gigantic set hanging next to Jim Macpherson’s hi-hats.
The innovative American alt-rockers’ attention to detail was endearing, as was Kim’s mega-watt smile, which never faded throughout the 90-minute set. Twin sister Kelley Deal stuck mostly to the shadows but also appeared to be having fun, making conversation with herself and gesticulating like a drama kid when not coaxing feedback and riffs from her guitar.
But Last Splash is a disjointed record, with constant peaks and dips. Playing it front to back resulted in a set with halting momentum. Cheerful, driving tunes like Cannonball, Divine Hammer, Saints and I Just Wanna Get Along pushed the amped crowd into states of ecstasy, while moodier ones like Roi, Mad Lucas and Hag dampened the excitement.
Kim’s pretty, sandpapery vocals remain some of the best in rock, and the band smartly broadened the set to include newer material and plenty of songs from Pod, their 1990 Steve Albini-produced debut album many consider to be their best. A strange but effective cover of the Beatles’ Happiness Is A Warm Gun, with vocals shared by Kim and Kelley, totally hit the mark.
