The Breeders revisit Portland, bringing fresh songs and classics

 The Breeders. (Photo by James Ridling) Alternative rock band The Breeders kick off a string of East Coast tour dates with a Thursday night show at the State Theatre. After being asked to be part of Wilco’s Solid Sound festival in North Adams, Massachusetts on June 28, the band decided to build a tour around it. The Breeders is Kim Deal (vocals, guitar), Kelley Deal (guitar), Josephine Wiggs (bass) and drummer Jim MacPherson. In 1993, The Breeders broke through in a huge way with the album “Last Splash,” home to the band’s best known song “Cannonball.” With distorted vocals, fuzzy guitar, a thunderous through line of bass and a slam dunk refrain, the song is an essential part of the ’90s (and beyond) alternative rock canon. It’s to the ’90s what “How Soon is Now” by The Smiths is to the ’80s. The last time they played in Maine was 2018, while touring for the “All Nerve” album, the band’s fifth and most recent release. Advertisement The Breeders’ most recent live shows were in 2024, six of them as the opening act for pop singer Olivia Rodrigo. I had a few questions about the Breeders coming back to Maine. Is the band sick of playing “Cannonball” live? Will there ever be a new Breeders album? What do they think about our state? Wiggs, who is British, answered all of these questions from Dayton, Ohio where the rest of the band lives and where she had driven from her Cape Cod home. The band is indeed hoping to record a new album, possible by the end of the year. “That’s really ambitious, especially bearing in mind The Breeders’ track record for how long it takes to make a record,” she said. “But we’re willing to give it a try. I think it would be really exciting.” Wiggs recalled a handful of previous visits to Maine, including a show in the ’90s with Emily Saliers and Amy Ray of Indigo Girls and several other musicians. Advertisement The tour was called The Suffragette Sessions, conceived by Ray and Saliers to create a collaborative community of female musicians, without a headliner. There were a dozen shows, including opening night at the State Theatre in Portland in August 1998. Other musicians on the tour included Gail Ann Dorsey, Jane Siberry, Lisa Germano and Kate Schellenbach (Luscious Jackson), among others. Wiggs said the tour was a fascinating experience. She recalled tasty Thai food somewhere on Congress Street in Portland and noting how pretty the historic buildings were. Wiggs also recalled a long weekend in Maine where she went kayaking around little islands. “The water was absolutely like glass. It was really spectacular.” As for “Cannonball,” Wiggs said it’s a still a fun song to play, albeit a difficult one. I told her that hearing the song live would be a huge moment for fans. “That’s really nice to hear you say that actually because we are somewhat removed from being able to understand what is going on with the audience,” Wiggs said, adding fans now tend to be more reserved. “It’s maybe because back in the day everybody was just off their faces with alcohol and the audience was kind of out of control in a really exciting way that doesn’t happen now.” Advertisement I have a feeling we’re going to prove her wrong in Portland, though hopefully not because of excessive booze. Other songs that Wiggs loves to play live include [“Lime House”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjsELVfqFFw&list=RDfjsELVfqFFw&start_radio=1) and [“Opened.”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFMxXEcATxk&list=RDwFMxXEcATxk&start_radio=1) Both are from The Breeders’ debut album “Pod,” released in 1990. “Pod” also features the first Breeders songs I ever heard, a cover of The Beatles’ “Happiness Is a Warm Gun.” It conjures up memories of playing it on my radio show at Keene State College, so I lobbied hard for it. Wiggs said it used to be a setlist staple but they haven’t played it in quite a while. I’ll still keep my fingers crossed. Wiggs’ passion for playing live remains intact. “There are certain moments, like a moment in the song [“Hag”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUZiBDcBvvE&list=RDbUZiBDcBvvE&start_radio=1) (“Last Splash) where if everything is exactly right, the tempo is right and the sound is right, I still get chills,” she said. It’s the same with the the track [“Iris”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUZiBDcBvvE&list=RDbUZiBDcBvvE&start_radio=1) (“Pod). “If everything gels, it’s really kind of a transcendent moment.” * * * [IF YOU GO](https://statetheatreportland.com/events/the-breeders/) 8 p.m. Thursday. State Theatre, 609 Congress St., Portland, $49.50 in advance, $55 day of show. [statetheatreportland.com](https://statetheatreportland.com/events/the-breeders/). Copy the Story Link Tagged: [Soundbites](https://www.pressherald.com/tag/soundbites/) [](https://www.pressherald.com/author/aimsel-ponti) [Aimsel PontiStaff Writer](https://www.pressherald.com/author/aimsel-ponti) Aimsel Ponti is a music writer and content producer for the Portland Press Herald. She has been obsessed with – and inspired by – music since she listened to Monkees records borrowed from the town. [More by Aimsel Ponti](https://www.pressherald.com/author/aimsel-ponti)