The Pixies and Spoon bring no-frills night of rock to Pittsburgh

Are you the type of person who goes to a concert hoping to hear 50 songs in one night? Well, you should have been at Stage AE on Friday.

In the course of about four hours, three acts jetted their way through dozens of tunes with the efficiency of an alternative rock assembly line.

Spoon and the Pixies are both big names in indie rock, and both can still draw a crowd, as evidenced by the full venue. And while neither may necessarily be household names, both carry heavy influence and dedicated fanbases.

Spoon played an impressive 15 songs during their allotted hour. The Austin, Texas, band gained popularity during the indie rock boom of the 2000s. They’re a staple soundtrack band — it seems like their song “The Underdog” was in every movie in the late aughts — and, as it turns out, they put on a pretty fantastic show.

They showed off all aspects of their discography, from twisty, rapid-fire guitar, such as in the opening song “Jonathan Fisk,” to the more classic-rock-inspired tunes, including “The Hardest Cut.” “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” sounded straight out of the 2000s — fair, since it was — with a lot of similarities to Modest Mouse at their best.

Another thing Spoon does exceedingly well is keyboards, as evidenced by perhaps their most well-known song, “The Way We Get By.” Their live version was bouncy with that perfect combination of keys and drums that hit just right.

“The Underdog” was a bit more stripped down than its recorded version, but the audience certainly didn’t hold back from singing along — and clapping along, as well.

They spent the rest of the set seesawing between softer songs like “I Summon You” and harder rock songs such as “Rent I Pay,” and lead singer Britt Daniel’s voice handled each with casual swagger. They ended on a high note, with “Got Nuffin.”

The Pixies are one of those bands that have made an indelible mark in rock history, even if their songs aren’t on the radio all the time (though anyone who’s watched the end credits of “Fight Club” has certainly heard them). The band was a huge inspiration for Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, for example. Their 1988 album “Surfer Rosa” is certified gold and their follow-up, 1989’s “Doolittle,” is certified platinum. While they’ve gone through numerous lineup changes in their four-decade history, original frontman Black Francis and original guitarist Joey Santiago are carrying the Pixies through. Bassist and singer Kim Deal is still missed, but filling those roles now is Emma Richardson, and she was a fitting replacement.

She was the first voice heard, in fact, with her cool, clear voice ringing through the sludgy guitar of the opening song “In Heaven.” Black Francis would take over for the vast majority of the setlist.

The Pixies played a whopping 28 songs in just about 90 minutes. Such a feat is insane, but it does become a lot easier when no one from the band speaks a single word to the crowd.

They hit most of the fan favorites, from surf-rock-inspired “Here Comes Your Man” to the surreal and howling “Debaser” to not one but two iterations of “Wave of Mutilation” (I don’t think anyone was complaining about the reprise).

But there was a lot of weirdness in there too. It’s no wonder the Pixies are college rock legends; they were experimental, brash and pioneering in many ways. At age 60, Black Francis might not be expected to keen, growl, hoot and shriek the way he did in the band’s heyday — but he exceeded expectations nonetheless.

Take, for example, the classic quiet-loud-quiet song “Tame.” The singer may have delivered the verses in an almost serpentine whisper, but the chorus got blasted out in a cathartic scream as the rest of the band’s instruments piled around it.

While a lot of Pixies songs are similar to each other in the band’s distinctive way, the unbroken parade of tunes on Friday night also revealed a strange versatility. A duet between Black Francis and Richardson on a cover of Neil Young’s “Winterlong” was sweet and well-sung; a couple of songs, such as “Vamos” and “Isla de Encanta,” incorporated Spanish words and sounds; and they delved into something sort of approaching folk in “Primrose.”

The set seemed designed to lean heavily on Black Francis beating his voice up for the first two-thirds and then letting it rest a bit more for the latter third, with less taxing songs like “Vegas Suite” and “Chicken” coming later. But the other band members never faltered, screeching guitar and heavy bass keeping their energy throughout.

Second to last was “Where is My Mind?” — the aforementioned “Fight Club” credits song — with an infectious guitar riff and Black Francis wringing out his voice for one last shouty, slightly hopeful performance. But Richardson got the night’s last song, “Into the White.”

There might not have been any talking, but Black Francis did bow and gesture to his bandmates in thanks before the Pixies left the Pittsburgh stage, grateful fans trying to absorb the litany of music that had just hit them like a wave.

Leading off the night was Fazerdaze, an outfit all the way from New Zealand that played echo-enhanced alt-rock and shoegaze that was just enough of a ’90s throwback to fit in with the rest of the bill perfectly. Frontwoman Amelia Murray’s voice was dreamy and versatile, and their set made for a pleasant sunset-time half hour.