The Breeders make gigantic Minneapolis return at Uptown Theater

Kim Deal of The Breeders performing at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Juliet Farmer for MPR

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September 25, 2024

On Tuesday night, the Breeders visited Uptown Theater for their second stop on a mini-tour, the Last Splash+Pod Extravaganza. Along with Chicago and Denver, Minneapolis is one of the only cities to experience the alt-rock band playing their first two albums, Pod and Last Splash. “It’s a long show,” guitarist and lead singer Kim Deal said before the band began. “Let’s pace ourselves.” At the packed gig — following the Breeders opening for Olivia Rodrigo on the Guts tour — they rebirthed songs conceived more than three decades ago.

Opening act Man on Man features Joey Holmann and Roddy Bottum (Faith No More, Imperial Teen), who call themselves a “gay lover band.” The two musicians in matching outfits shared a long kiss after stepping on stage and gave a heartwarming performance with their synth-heavy pop and indie-rock music. Bottum twisted knobs on his keyboard and moved with a funky, living-in-the-moment groove. The lyrics mention “Poppers, disco, 1980s, San Francisco” on “Take It From Me,” and “Piggy” is a song about men who only show their torso on Grindr.

Holmann fed off his partner’s energy and confidently delivered pop guitar chords. He mentioned his experience in a Christian band before he came out. “If there are any closeted men here in a Christian rock band, just know it gets better,” he joked. “You’re going to be on stage with the love of your life living out your love in front of audiences, opening for the Breeders.” The musicians nuzzled heads and shared another quick kiss during the closing song, “I Feel Good.” Bottum told the crowd to close their eyes for the dance track finale. The duo sang, “If they say that got something / To tone us all down / Step it up make it loud / And just get f***ing proud.”

Two musicians performing onstage — Joey Holman (guitar) and Roddy Bottum (keys) of MAN ON MAN performing at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.
Juliet Farmer for MPR

It would have been hard to believe with your eyes closed that Deal was playing an acoustic guitar during much of the Breeders’ performance. During the powerful first set featuring Pod, she detailed themes of loneliness, sex, and introspection with dark words delivered in a sweet voice. Lyrics to “When I Was a Painter” — “Heard stories of air velveteen / Twenty hours later I fill the room / With bad sex and bad TV” — were even more audibly clear live.

Guitarist Kelley Deal, Kim’s identical twin sister, produced tight-knit riffs to add suspense to songs like “Glorious” and deep reverb on “Iris.” English bassist Josephine Wiggs rounded out the set by leading deadpan spoken-sung vocals on “Metal Man.” Staring straight ahead and chewing gum with a calm energy, she said, “That's hot / That's hot” in her British accent. On the screen behind the bassist and drummer Jim MacPherson was an image of Pod producer Steve Albini, who died in May.

After Pod, Last Splash saw the group introduce a mix of pop, art-rock, and punk elements. The second portion of the night included the power pop “Divine Hammer” and “Saints,” which came with a burst of optimistic energy. The furthest sonic departure was the folk ballad “Driving on 9” when Kelley plucked her strings in alt-country fashion.

On stage, Last Splash sometimes came with foggy and distorted vocals from one of Deal’s microphones wrapped in fabric. Words on “New Year” and “No Aloha” were purposely warped and unintelligible. They sounded like screeches from a basement house show. The singer also used the mic on choruses of the band’s most well-known song, “Cannonball,” after blowing a sports referee whistle and cheekily flashing tongue.

Both sets included outside help from Susan Voelz, a violist from Chicago. On “Oh!” the instrument added a gentle, smoothing edge. And on “Mad Lucas” its high and rapid notes kept listeners on their toes amidst Kim’s reprimanding lyrics, including, “Arise, wash your face / From cinder and soot / You're a nuisance / And I don't like dirt.”

Despite often raw and blunt lyrics, Kim was all smiles the whole evening. She ended each song with a look of satisfaction on her face — like genuine gratitude to be on stage with her bandmates.

As a unit, the Breeders presented a professionally seasoned, casual, and comfortable mood. They switched things up for “Roi,” when Kim said, “Now we’re going to get a little weird.” Wiggs moved to the drum set, and Macpherson assumed the foreground to play bass. The drummer with real dad energy knelt to the floor to turn on a bubble machine. The squalling rhythms and jolting chord progressions on “Roi” made for an unpredictable atmosphere.

A band performing onstage — The Breeders performing at the Uptown Theater in Minneapolis on Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024.
Juliet Farmer for MPR

“The main reason I like [the Breeders] is for their songs, for the way they structure them, which is totally unique, very atmospheric.” Kurt Cobain told British magazine Melody Maker, in 1992. “I wish Kim was allowed to write more songs for the Pixies, because ‘Gigantic’ is the best Pixies song and Kim wrote it.” (The band would later support Nirvana on the In Utero tour).

The Breeders chose “Gigantic” as the show’s encore track. Lore says after the song became a hit, Deal sought a greater role in the band and never received it. But picking up a bass for the first time all night while backed by her collaborative band members seemed like Deal’s reclamation of the song.

Deal’s youthful persona on stage masked the amount of time between the show and the albums’ release dates. She explained the band wrote “Flipside” for Last Splash, then later decided it would fit well as the last song on the album’s Side A, as in, the first side of a record or cassette. The mention of physical media, in contrast to tapping a screen, was a reminder of how the way we listen to music has drastically changed over the last 30 years. What has remained constant is the influence of the Breeders' ahead-of-their-time artistry on the generations of alt-rockers to come.

The Breeders