Credited with being core to the foundation of Alternative Rock as we know it, the Pixies [ tickets ] began kicking up the dust in their hometown of Boston in 1986.

Fast forward to 2009, and bandmates Black Francis [ tickets ] (vocals, guitar) Joey Santiago [ tickets ] (guitar) Kim Deal [ tickets ] (vocals, bass) and David Lovering [ tickets ] (drums) are something akin to rock royalty in the eyes and ears of their fans. Despite--or perhaps because of--a lack of mainstream success in their heyday, the Pixies will likely always be icons of the underground music scene.

Last week at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, the quartet kicked off a tour celebrating 20 years since the 1989 release of the album "Doolittle," playing all the set's tracks--including the almost-hits "Here Comes Your Man and "Monkey Gone to Heaven"--from start to finish. On Sunday night (11/8), they performed the first of three shows at The Fox Theater in Oakland, CA and LiveDaily photographer Tim Mosenfelder was there to get some shots.