I pulled up to the Glass House in Pomona only to see the line for The Breeders and The Linda Lindas going all the way down the building. My excitement started to build as the realization set in that I haven’t seen The Breeders in 30 years!
THE GLASS HOUSE
Pomona, California
April 13, 2023
I was also thrilled to see The Linda Lindas again as I love their enthusiasm. I have seen them a few times already and I have noticed they’re getting more comfortable on stage and more fluid with their stage moves. I knew this was going to be an amazing night of music from two incredibly talented bands.
The Linda Lindas became Instafamous after their video “Racist, Sexist Boy” went viral. Since then, they have opened for the likes of Jawbreaker and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. The day after this show was the first day of Coachella and I heard they had to get the day off school to play Coachella.
What a teenage dream come true! You can tell they are still in awe of their overnight success and they had all of The Breeders signing setlists and posters for them backstage. It was as if they couldn’t believe they were onstage, singing with The Breeders; they couldn’t stop smiling and giggling.
The Breeders’ Kim Deal was showing so much support for The Linda Lindas and invited them onstage to sing with them. It felt like a passing of the torch of sorts, from such a strong female-fronted band to this new, all-female band.
For their set, The Linda Lindas put their hearts into it, gave all they had, and did such a fantastic job. The crowd loved “Talking to Myself,” “Yo me estreso” (which was the first time they have played this song live), “Never Say Never,” their new song “Too Many Things,” “Growing Up,” a cover of The Go-Go’s’ “Tonite,” “Oh!” and of course, “Racist, Sexist Boy.”
Bela Salazar, Eloise Wong, Lucia de la Garza, and Mila de la Garza absolutely blew the audience away and I am sure they did the same at Coachella.
For me, it was a full circle life moment. I was 14 years old when I saw The Breeders open for Nirvana. It was the “In Utero” tour and five months before Kurt Cobain passed away. Cobain decapitated a mannequin with his guitar, Dave Grohl set his cymbals on fire, which he then played while they were on fire, and then they hit the kit with guitars before the guitars were smashed, and the drum set wrecked. Total stage destruction. In another bit of full circle, The Breeders are opening up for Grohl’s Foo Fighters on their 2023 headlining dates.
The Breeders – Kim Deal, her twin sister Kelley Deal, Josephine Wiggs, and Jim Macpherson – remain an iconic band. They bring every age of people to their shows too. I was surprised at how many young people were there, plus I saw some grandmas absolutely rocking out to every song. Several bands were in attendance – like Greer and Alien Ant Farm – and they said The Breeders were a big influence on them musically.
They kicked off with “Wait in the Car,” and then brought The Linda Lindas out for “Saints.” They played through “Invisible Man,” “Doe,” “Hag,” and “Howl at the Summit.”
Both Deal women seemed appreciative and excited to be onstage. The crowd was absolutely crazy excited to see them and hear “Safari,” “Iris,” “No Aloha,” “Fortunately Gone,” “Off You,” and “When I Was a Painter.”
After their cover of The Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” they did “New Year,” and their mega-hit, “Cannonball.” It was so amazing to hear “Cannonball” live again after all these years, and so many hits from “Last Splash.”
As for the rest of their electrifying set, “I Just Wanna Get Along,” “Do You Love Me Now?” and “MetaGoth” were followed by “Gigantic.” Since “Gigantic” is a Pixies cover, Kim said she was actually covering herself. It felt like Kim and Frank Black were responsible for all those eclectic nuances that made the Pixies and are clearly recognizable in The Breeders.
“To my mind, there is a reason music is there and it’s about being human“
Kim Deal – The Breeders
They said goodnight, but thankfully came back for an encore with “Walking With a Killer,” “Drivin’ on 9” and “Divine Hammer.”
So many great memories relived and it was wonderful to have The Breeders onstage again!
