The Breeders, an indie-rock powerhouse that is a spawn of The Pixies, among others, and has toured with the likes of Nirvana, will take the stage Monday at the Launchpad along with local band Mistletoe.
After forming in Boston in 1988, The Breeders were an on-again, off-again side project for Pixies' bassist Kim Deal and Tanya Donnelly of Throwing Muses. The duo recruited some of their top female peers to round out their lineup and settled on their name, which is slang for heterosexual women, because they thought it was amusing.
The path that followed included a spot on Lollapalooza, quality time with Nirvana on their 1992 European tour, an impressive string of strong albums, your obligatory drug rehabilitation and a smattering of time when the band took a hiatus so its members could form other credible acts. More recently, the group worked with Guided by Voices, among others, on a tribute album during the Tim Taylor Memorial Benefit in Dayton, Ohio.
After surviving the bends on the road to rock happiness, The Breeders head to Albuquerque with their latest lineup, which has changed so that it ironically includes one male in a band with a very female name.
Kelly Deal and Kim Deal cover both guitar and vocals, while Tyler Trent tackles drums and Josephine Wiggs takes on bass, cello, piano and vocals.
The latest collaboration should still include the low-fi guitars and lilting vocal melodies that are The Breeders' trademark.
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The group's opening act is local band Mistletoe, and its name says all you really need to know about the band - longing for that perfect kiss under your traditional holiday greenery that may never come.
The band's sound is comparable to that tortured, soulful moment of supreme love and disappointment.
It isn't all angst with these local loverboys, and if you really miss the Smashing Pumpkins as much as I do, get to the show early to catch these up-and-comers.
Mistletoe's Brian Rains on bass, Javier Romero on vocals and guitar and Alex Rose on drums and vocals just might pleasantly surprise you.
Mistletoe and The Breeders will play the Launchpad, 618 Central Ave. S.W., in a 21-and-over only show.
Doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets are $15 apiece and can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com.
For more information, call 764-8887.
