Pavement appeared on the latest episode of Austin City Limits, performing a full 15-song set on the long-running PBS live series
Stephen Malkmus and his slacker-rock cohorts showed up for a stacked set that included well-worn singles like “Cut Your Hair” and “Stereo” along with later cuts like “Spit on a Stranger” and “Harness Your Hopes” that were recently revitalized on dual 2022 reissues. They also unleashed renditions of “Embassy Row” and “Type Slowly” from Brighten the Corners, one of our top albums of 1997.
The ACL performance marked the band’s 30th anniversary, a celebration Malkmus once predicted would never happen. Fittingly, the band reached back to their roots with numbers like their 1991 debut single “Summer Babe” as well as “Zurich Is Stained” and “Trigger Cut” from their first album, 1992’s Slanted and Enchanted. Watch the entire performance, available for streaming until March 5th, below.
Pavement are currently closing out a Pacific tour between Japan and Australia that extends into March. The band is then slated to headline Salt Lake City’s Kilby Block Party in May. Browse for tickets to their ongoing live circuit here.
For a status update on the recently reformed five-piece, check out our recap of Pavement’s Los Angeles concert before their full reunion tour kicked off in 2022. Elsewhere, compare the ACL setlist with our picks for the band’s top 10 best songs.
Despite Malkmus claiming it would be “total cringe” for the band to write new music, Pavement have been at the center of rumors regarding a potential jukebox musical and a subsequent movie musical.
Pavement Austin City Limits Setlist:
Grounded
Summer Babe
Stereo
Black Out
Embassy Row
Zurich Is Stained
Trigger Cut
Two States
Type Slowly
Harness Your Hopes
Spit on a Stranger
Unfair
We Dance
Painted Soldiers
Cut Your Hair
