Pixies @ Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, 14 May

Tonight's sold-out crowd is queued along the entire length of the Corn Exchange. Wearing a panoply of apparel, fans rep bands from Bad Brains to Black Sabbath to Big Special (the Birmingham duo serving as the evening’s support), and excitedly chatter while inching closer to the main entrance. 

Inside is a black curtain adorned with Pixies’ winged P symbol, and before long the trailblazing band makes their way onto the stage to a rapturous ovation. While original member Kim Deal remains a noted and unfortunate absence, Emma Richardson – the latest bass player and duelling vocalist to join the group – has become a welcome addition to the lineup. If there were any lingering doubts about that, they are quickly allayed as she takes the lead on set opener In Heaven. 

Pixies begin to pick and choose from the solid tracks found on their latest LP, The Night the Zombies Came, and the fan favourites that first defined them as seminal legends several decades earlier. There are subtle shifts in the lighting that cast towering shadows of the members onto the venue’s walls, indicative of their larger-than-life stature in the alt-rock sphere. 

Both the selection and the pacing feel purposeful; they are now like an ageing though still-great fighter, one who has learned to lean on experience and pick their shots, before they surge forward with another vicious flurry. It isn’t until Caribou that frontman Black Francis first showcases those trademark vocals and delightfully screeches his plea to 'Repent!'

The powerful chord progression of Monkey Gone To Heaven prompts the crowd to erupt as a cluster of phone screens are suddenly pulled out and held up to illuminate the room before Francis can even finish his opening remark of 'There was a guy'. While Pixies' reputation for reticence precedes them, that doesn’t mean they're above playing up to a crowd. But instead of relying on trite platitudes or tired gimmicks the showmanship is much more understated; Joey Santiago whipping off his cap to bat at his guitar to stop and then restart the feedback during Vamos, Black Francis’s various barks and grunts on Nimrod’s Son, or drummer David Lovering multitasking as he calls out the P-I-X-I-E-S chant on Cactus while never missing a beat with his sticks. 

They are approaching the end of an exhaustive 30-song set and there's now an urgency to the proceedings; they’re tearing through songs at breakneck speed, fans only able to squeeze in the briefest applause before the next track starts. When the intro to Where Is My Mind? is strummed the crowd, as if on cue, perform the haunting chorus of backing vocals on the band’s behalf.

It seems an obvious choice for a closing track, but instead Pixies immediately rip into a blinding rendition of Into the White, causing a slew of presumptuous fans heading towards the exit to pause and return their attention to the stage for a final time. The house lights are raised as the performance continues, a subtle way of letting everyone know that this is it – there will be no encore. Though when you’re a band of such high esteem, still capable of pulling out all the stops and putting on a show this good, who needs one?