It's All In My Mind...

I saw Stephen Malkmus play at the Paradise in Boston last week. I drove two hours after a long week of school, got lost outside of the city, and went deaf in one ear from standing next to the amp, but it was well worth it as soon as he walked out on the stage. My eyes didn't leave the stage until he did. I've been in love with Pavement from the first time I heard "Summer Babe" when I was still in high school.
He didn't play any Pavement songs, which was fine. It wouldn't have been the same without the other original guys. But to quell the constant crowd requests for "Debris Slide" and "Shady Lane" they played a cover of Fear's "I Don't Care About You" which they've apparently been playing at most of the shows on their current tour. Either way, it was amazing. Malkmus sang with the rawness he had on Pavement's earliest albums.
Seeing him play with the Jicks wasn't the same as a Pavement reunion, but it was still a mind blowing experience. I'll be seeing him again at Lollapalooza this summer, along with a hundred other incredible artists, but my fingers still cross every night in hopes that Pavement will reunite.