Pavement Breaks Out Deep Cuts In New York City Before ‘Break Of Indeterminate Length’

Pavement took the stage ahead of “a well-earned break of indeterminate length,” as per a press release, at New York City’s Sony Hall on Tuesday. The concert also came in celebration of the premiere of Alex Ross Perry’s hybrid documentary/biopic Pavements and saw the influential rockers delving into deep cuts from their catalog.

Pavements stars the band — Mark Ibold, Scott “Spiral Stairs” Kannberg, Stephen Malkmus, Bob Nastanovich and Steve West — as well as Tim Heidecker, Jason Schwartzman, Joe Keery and others. The film initially premiered at the recent Venice Film Festival and will screen, with apperances from band members and Perry, at the New York Film Festival beginning tonight (October 2). Pavements is set to hit theaters Spring 2025.

2022 saw Pavement reuniting for the first time since 2010 with touring continuing into 2023 and a handful of festival plays in 2024. So, there was a lot to celebrate at Sony Hall as the band heads into a break. To kick off the concert, Pavement took it back to 1989 when it existed as a duo of Stephen Malkmus and Spiral Stairs with a cut off their debut EP, Slay Tracks: 1933–1969, “You’re Killing Me.”

Pavement would also perform eight of the 14 tracks from their 1992 debut LP, Slanted and Enchanted, the title for which was recently used in a recent Alex Ross Perry-directed Pavement musical. Slanted and Enchanted favorites at Sony Hall included “Zurich Is Stained,” “In the Mouth a Desert,” and “Summer Babe.”

While staples like “Cut Your Hair,” “Stereo,” and “Grounded” were missing from the setlist, Pavement opted to treat the audience to a pair of rarities, beginning with “Perfect Depth” in the fourth slot. The song — off another early EP, Demolition Plot J-7 — has only been performed 24 times since its debut in 1989, according to SetlistFM stats. Pavement dusted off the “Perfect Depth” in NYC for the first time since 2010.

The penultimate play in the 23-song main set came in the form of “Easily Fooled.” According to SetlistFM, the tune was last played in 1997. “Easily Fooled” has been performed 28 times, with the 24 of those coming in 1994.

Pavement wrapped the main set with “Harness Your Hopes” from their Spit on a Stranger EP. The quintet returned to encore with “Date w/ IKEA” and “Fight This Generation.”

Watch fan-shot video of the full show captured by Chad Sclove below: