Berk Rosenwald
Jul 25, 2026
Deep cuts shared the spotlight with classics as Pavement turned a summer stop in St. Paul into a celebration of their enduring catalog.
On a summer night in St. Paul, Pavement took over the ornate, faded-grand stage of the Palace Theatre, delivering a set that felt equal parts shambolic and triumphant. Following a brief but charming opening set from Halifax-bred Nap Eyes, the lights dimmed for Malkmus and company. The band sauntered out with the same air of studied nonchalance that's defined them since their early years.
Pavement's music has always thrived on a kind of controlled chaos. Guitars that seem to wander off mid-thought before snapping back into a hook, drums that lag just behind the beat on purpose, and Malkmus's half-mumbled, half-sneered vocals riding on top of it all like he's letting you in on a joke only he understands.
The set opened with the loose, unspooling energy of "Starlings of the Slipstream," before tearing into "Stereo" and "Silence Kid”: early proof that the band's chemistry hadn't dulled with time.
Deep cuts like "Shoot the Singer (1 Sick Verse)" and "Kennel District" sat comfortably alongside the more radio-familiar "Cut Your Hair" and "Summer Babe”. The band was content to let the catalog sprawl rather than cater to nostalgia alone. "In the Mouth a Desert" stretched out into something hypnotic, Malkmus's guitar wandering off mid-thought before snapping back into shape, while "Range Life" closed the main set on a note of easy, warm sarcasm that had the whole room singing along.
What set the night apart was the sheer generosity of it. There wasn’t just one, but two encores! The first brought "AT&T," a surging "Gold Soundz," and "Stop Breathin," each song landing like a small victory for a crowd that had been waiting all night to hear them.
Just when it seemed the night was winding down, the band returned once more for a second encore, closing with none other than "Harness Your Hopes." Like everyone else in the crowd, I had been waiting for this cult classic to finally land its way into the set, and it warmed my heart hear it before they exited
stage, and headed for the next stop on their limited run this summer.
