Black Francis wanted nothing less than perfection for his Wednesday night set at the Walnut Room — and the audience ate it up. Photo from BlackFrancis.net.

Black Francis — a.k.a. Frank Black, a.k.a. the leader of alt- and indie heroes the Pixies — is a storyteller. His ability to thread a yarn through rambling, surrealist lyrics is only exceeded by his talent in wrangling pure and simple rock that’s a worthy backdrop for them. Last Wednesday night, Black spent over two hours regaling a packed Walnut Room with songs from his own oeuvre and the pantheon of Pixies material, and added almost as many stories.

The spectacle started out hilariously, after a significant delay, when Black asked the audience if they “wanted a difficult or easy song first?” At audience request, he started a sloppy attempt at “Two Reelers,” but aborted halfway through. Far from appearing the least bit embarrassed, he muttered (as if to himself, grinning): “No problem… I’ll just play something by the Pixies! That’ll win them back…” Then he fell into a sparse, beautiful version of “Wave of Mutilation,” and proved in seconds he was right. In all, Black aborted three tunes that evening, but never came across as clumsy or unprepared. If anything, their termination was in our defense, as if to spare us from anything that might appear less than perfect.

Black turned the venue into a living room with wry wit and easy banter between songs. After performing “All Around the World,” and opening a bottle of champagne (which he nearly finished by the show’s end), he trolled through “Bullet,” “I Burn Today,” “The Water,” “Ed is Dead” and others, and each one was smoother and more spirited than the last.

He then told us a story behind at least two of the songs from his “Bluefinger” album, both written around the life of Dutch painter Herman Brood. The songs, “Lolita” and “Angels Come to Comfort You,” revolve around Brood’s leap to his death off of the Amsterdam Hilton. Black humorously filled us in on the details, as well as fantasies about what angels, and Brood’s ghost, did to help him and his daughter after his demise.

After that, Black attempted “Two Reelers” again, amidst a story about the song’s origin in the Three Stooges, but was successful this time. The song approached being an homage to Hendrix, with wild guitar work that recalled “Manic Depression.” He continued playing this brand of distilled, pure and sexy rock, with ardent versions of “Cactus,” “The Holiday Song,” “Sing for Joy,” “I’ll Be Blue” and “Massif Centrale” before playing the wildly popular “Where is My Mind?” and “Velouria.”

There was no playlist — each song came from his head, chosen on the fly. Black’s high degree of showmanship was tangible, based on the “simple and confident equals powerful and passionate” equation that’s been behind all of his music since the late ‘80s. He played a style beautiful in its blatant simplicity, recalling old bluesmen, with minimalism that burned with spiritual fervor.

Black has perfected his art over the past decade or so, and showed last Wednesday how strongly he can wield it, and why he’s equal in significance to rock legends like Buddy Holly and Elvis. He should also be considered on par with pre-rock legends like Son House or Muddy Waters, for his performance, and for his passion.

Follow Reverb on Twitter! Here!

Billy Thieme is a Denver-based writer, an old-school punk and a huge follower of Denver’s vibrant local music scene. Follow Billy’s giglist at Gigbot.