I was entranced last night at the Pixies. Utterly amazing. But for the life of me I can't put my finger on why they were so brilliant. Kim Deal is a soccer mom sporting a goofy grin. Black Francis looks like a short order cook with clogged arteries. Joey Santiago merely welded his axe like a competent pro. And yet somehow, someway they're easily one of the best bands I've ever seen. 9.8/10.

Note: For those wondering, Pixies round II play less of the hits and included a couple of covers such as Head On by JAMC. I guess it helps if you haven't much filler if you gonna skip over crowd fav's like Here Come Your Man etc. ;-)

What are the essential ingredients of an exciting live act?