The dream of the '90s isn't only alive in Portland. Miami came out to represent hard, some fans even bringing their original record pressings to be signed by Kim Deal and the gang. The lineup today is the same group of lovely ladies (and one lad) who put the album together in '93, originally touring in support of Nirvana on the In Utero tour.
They hit the stage rather promptly at 10 p.m., their crunching guitars still in need of a bit of tuning. The drinkers and smokers milling around the porch sprang to attention and pushed through the heavy doors to fill the floor.
They started their set with "an oldie but goodie," a song that wasn't from the Last Splash, "When I Was a Painter" from the POD EP. Then after a couple last minute tunings and some passive-aggressive banter, they got right into it.
They ripped through the whole record, as promised and it was just as magical as one might expect. Of course, the fans went crazy for the big hits, but they sang along mostly to everything. Between songs, the band would tell stories from back in the day, tease each other, tease the venue crew, apologize for not having the original mini-Moog from '93, though they did dig up the old, aforementioned wind chimes. We're hoping they didn't wear the same underwear.
Not everything was the same, of course. The alt queens and king have aged, though their love for the music is undiminished. They seemed rather invigorated, even if they weren't all that animated on stage.
But then, you have to figure, '90s bands were kind of listless and absent in the first place. That's part of the charm, man.
See also: Sigur Ros' Kveikur Tour Made Us Cry (Literally) in Miami
