Openers GANS are proud Black Country sons (the regional flag is prominently displayed), specialising in a heady concoction of industrial noise, no-wave skronk and punk spirit. Mandy, Indiana meets black midi meets hardcore pub rock? And the occasional flute? Who knows, but it makes for a hell of a good time as the trio leave it all onstage (and the pit) in the name of getting the people sufficiently amped for the icons to come.

The restless contortions of the GANS boys is thrown into sharp contrast with Pixies, who move as little as possible throughout their hour and a half. The band are famously tight-lipped on stage (the music does the talking, etc etc), but tonight Black Francis is positively loquacious by his standards. Maybe it’s all the tea. He observes that it’s the band’s first time in Dunfermline, introduces a few songs, banters with the band after an abandoned song and even briefly explains the hit/new song rationale. It’s nice to see them having fun; a peek behind their occasionally austere facade.

That isn’t to say they can’t still batter through the tunes, though it’s maybe down to a lean 30ish these days instead of the 40-50 mark they’d hit a few years back. Almost every hit is followed by a new or obscure song, which means you’re never far from a banger, or never far from the energy being zapped from the room, depending on your perspective.

‘Here Comes Your Man’ is the first to get the pit pogo-ing and the oldheads nodding, and ‘Mr. Grieves’ and ‘Wave of Mutilation’ follow shortly after. A cover of Neil Young’s ‘Winterlong’ is a nice change of pace and sees Francis mining some feedback for a strong crescendo. Expected highlight ‘Gouge Away’ doesn’t quite reach the heights it could as Francis’ ability to jump from laconic to manic has slowed over the years, but that menacing bassline is never going to get old. ‘Hey’ is much more suited to his pace now and provides a high point along with a full throttle cover of JAMC’s ‘Head On’.

Later on Emma Richardson (bassist since 2024) gets her star turn as the lead on the always trippy cover of David Lynch’s ‘In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)’ from Eraserhead. Most of the crowd are confused, but the surreal moment keeps their attention better than new Pixies material and Richardson kills it. The UK Surf version of ‘Wave of Mutilation’ doesn’t add a great deal, before ‘Velouria’ gets a strangely wild reception. The crowd do the lion’s share of the work on ‘Where is my Mind?’ which Francis obviously anticipates, so he chucks in a few leftfield line deliveries just to keep it interesting. Like ‘Gouge Away’, you can’t deny the power of ‘Debaser’ regardless of the performance. And luckily the band muster up two last hurrahs to send the lairy masses off in style tonight, with a knockout rendition of that classic along with ‘Tame’, with perhaps the only faithful screams from Francis all night.

For a band that made their name on unhinged, intense live shows 40 years ago, it would be unfair to expect these anniversary shows to match that legacy. With the original members now north of 60, they’ve settled into a solid groove that’s at odds with their original unpredictability, but the firepower of their imperial phase can still soundtrack a brilliant night, if only in portions.