Pixies have been around for forty years, and in that time they’ve become one of the most influential bands alternative rock has ever seen. They’re the kind of band that fills a room before the first note plays, and on May 10 at the Filinvest Tent in Alabang, nobody needed warming up.

Karpos Live brought the band to Alabang as part of their 40th anniversary tour, and the crowd was not a casual audience. People knew the deep cuts and the B-sides, and they definitely knew every word to “Here Comes Your Man.”

The setlist ran thirty songs, which is generous by any standard. The opening stretch was relentless: “Wave of Mutilation” into “Isla de Encanta” into “Monkey Gone to Heaven,” all within the first fifteen minutes. Black Francis’ voice was in great shape the whole night, and David Lovering held the whole thing together on drums the way he always has.

Aside from being the Pixies’ first time performing in the Philippines, there’s another layer to the night worth noting: Joey Santiago, the band’s guitarist, is Filipino-American. He was born in Manila and grew up partly in the Philippines before his family moved to the United States, where he eventually met Black Francis and formed the Pixies. He took the stage in a barong (a small thing, maybe, but not to this crowd). Watching him play at the Filinvest Tent, in front of a Filipino crowd, felt like its own kind of moment. 

The covers were well-chosen. “Head On,” originally by The Jesus and Mary Chain, showed up early and fit naturally into the set. “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” (from David Lynch’s Eraserhead) slowed the room down just long enough before things picked back up. Bassist Emma Richardson took the lead on that one, and it was one of the more unexpected highlights of the night.

“Here Comes Your Man” was the crowd moment of the night. Everyone sang it all the way through.

The second half went deeper into the catalog. “Velouria,” “Motorway to Roswell,” “Gouge Away,” “Caribou,” and “Tame” were some songs that rewarded everyone who showed up knowing the records well.

“Where Is My Mind” closed the main set, and the crowd sang every word, whoas included. By that point, the show had already given us everything we came for, and the song was the right way to land it. They came back for one encore, “Bone Machine.”

The whole band played flawlessly that night. Forty years deep and played like it. But when Manila chanted Joey’s name at the final bow, it was hard not to feel like this stop on the tour meant something a little different for him.

Some shows you leave thinking about the setlist, while some you leave thinking about a specific song. This one you just left feeling good — a band at forty years, still fully themselves, playing for a city that had been waiting a long time for this.

More photos here.

Karpos Live Presents: Pixies was made possible by Karpos Multimedia

Words by Ava S.
Photos by Yobhel Valenzuela