Black Francis performs Pixies-laden acoustic set in Los Angeles

He then rushes off to the studio to complete his latest solo album

Black Francis treated a packed house to several stripped-down, acoustic Pixies songs at his intimate solo show at The Mint in Los Angeles last night (August 11).

The Pixies frontman, also known as Frank Black, took the stage alone with his guitar and a harmonica. Things got off to a bumpy start when he broke a string during his first song and he then forgot the words to his second.

“When it gets like this I do a Pixies song,” he quipped, before launching into ‘Cactus’.

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He then proceeded to play several crowd-pleasing solo tunes including ‘Los Angeles’, ‘Angels Come To Comfort You’ and ‘Headache’ as well as the Pixies classics ‘Where Is My Mind?,’ ‘Wave Of Mutilation’ and ‘Gouge Away’.

“There’s a little Kim Deal action for you on that song,” he said after singing the bassist’s parts on ‘Velouria’.

Francis bantered with the crowd throughout his 90-minute set, pausing only to pour himself large glasses of red wine and readjust his harmonica. “I’m playing all the songs I want to play tonight,” he said. The crowd cheered loudly in response, shouting out song titles, “I love you!” and “Saint Francis!”

“Here’s one in C-sharp minor, my favourite chord,” he said before launching into ‘Nimrod’s Son’.

After his set, Francis told NME.COM that he was heading straight into a nearby studio to record the final track for his new solo album, which he revealed will likely be called ‘Non-Stop Erotik’.

Los Angeles band Mere Mortals kicked off the night with a stripped-down set of their own, featuring frontman Axel Steuerwald and guitarist Jason O without their rhythm section.

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The band, who were hand-picked by Francis for the opening slot, previewed several tracks from their forthcoming album including ‘Sunspots’, ‘Telescopes’ and ‘Little Lover Suicide’.

Francis and Mere Mortals are set to perform their second of two shows at The Mint in Los Angeles tonight (August 12).

Pixies are set to kick off a US tour in Los Angeles on November 4 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their landmark ‘Doolittle’ album, as previously reported.

–By our Los Angeles staff.

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