Some thoughts on seeing Pavement in 2026

In 1994, I drove down to see the Rolling Stones in Ames, Iowa. I was excited to see the Stones, but also a little nervous; they were SO OLD. Would they still be able to play their guitars and drums with all the arthritis? They opened with “Not Fade Away;” I was honestly, legitimately stunned that they could remember how to play a song that old, or even remember that they’d ever played it, way back in the depths of history.

I was 19 then. Mick Jagger was 51 at that show, the exact age I am now (I, to my great relief, can easily still play guitar and remember lots of songs that I wrote and performed in my 20s). Those ancient Stones were, collectively, all about a decade younger than the members of Pavement were when I saw them playing in St. Paul earlier this week.