Simply dressed in an untucked gray flannel and shades, Frank Black had no backing band, but one guitar, some water and some wine. Do you know who else performed with water and wine? Jesus Christ, Black was in a gracious mood for the large group of alt-rock survivors who gathered at the Grog Shop on Thursday night. His performance was almost Pollard-esque in scope (30+ songs, nearly two hours), drawing from his many post-Pixies endeavors (Frank Black, Black Francis, Frank Black and the Catholics) as well as his still very much beloved band.

Though he had just that one guitar, thanks to the miracles of modern electronics, Black was able to shift from acoustic to electric and back with a flip of a switch. As a result, familiar songs like The Pixies’ “Holiday Song” and “Los Angeles,” from his first post-Pixies solo album took on folksier, more intimate tones, while another old Pixies tune, “Cactus,” was stripped of its jaggedness and became a number more fit for an old blues man. Others, like “Velouria,” sounded very much as you remember them, minus Kim Deal, and David Lovering, and Joey Santiago, of course.

Black’s voice showed no signs of wearing thin, alternating between lower registers, falsetto, and somewhere in between with no effort at all, and even if some of those old songs didn’t fit the traveling troubadour setting of the night (“Crackity Jones,” was especially awkward,) his throng of fans didn’t seem to mind all that much. Shouts of “You’re the greatest!” “Fraaaank Blaaack!” and “I love you man,” could still be heard between every song. And when he did nail one of those old Pixies songs, like “Wave of Mutilation,” “Where is My Mind,” and “Monkey’s Gone to Heaven,” the excitement, and the appreciation flowed from the floor to the rafters.

Hinting at what was to follow, Cleveland’s Bill Fox, very much treasured, and a member of underground rock royalty, himself, albeit on a much smaller scale, opened the night with an eleven song set, of simple and delicate folk. Although, he still isn’t much of a talker on stage, and isn’t one to take breaks, except for the occasional sip of a tall-boy, his eyes were much brighter and his voice far more expressive than those shows earlier this year when he first came out of retirement. Pity the chatters in the back who were to busy chattering to take in the unadorned elegance of Fox’s patiently strummed and wistfully sung “Lonesome Pine,” “My Baby’s Crying,” and “Song of a Drunken Nightingale.”

Frank Black Setlist:

1. Holiday Song (Pixies)
2. Los Angeles (Frank Black)
3. The Water (Frank Black)
4. I Burn Today (Frank Black)
5. Horrible Day (Frank Black and the Catholics)
6. Cactus (Pixies)
7. Crackity Jones (Pixies)
8. Two Reelers (Frank Black)
9. Tight Black Rubber (Black Francis)
10. Velouria (Pixies)

11. Six-Sixty-Six (Frank Black and The Catholics)
12. She Took All the Money (Black Francis)
13. Angels Come to Comfort You (Black Francis)
14. Headache (Frank Black)
15. Where is My Mind (Pixies)
16. That Burnt Out Rock and Roll (Gary Green cover)
17. Dead Man’s Curve (Frank Black)
18. Wave of Mutilation (Pixies)
19. When They Come to Murder Me (Black Francis)
20. Show Me Your Tears (Frank Black and the Catholics)

21. Bullet (Frank Black and the Catholics)
22. Song for the Shrimp (Frank Black)
23. Mr Grieves (Pixies)
24. Nimrod’s Son (Pixies)
25. Sing for Joy (Frank Black)
26. Goodbye Lorraine (Frank Black and the Catholics)
27. Monkey’s Gone to Heaven (Pixies)
28. California Bound (Frank Black and the Catholics)
29. I Heard Ramona Sing (Frank Black)
30. Lolita (Black Francis)
31. All Around the World (Pixies/Frank Black)