When a column's purpose is to highlight the local music scene, it's certainly understandable to focus on national touring acts that come to town. These aren't stadium-level acts, and it is near impossible to be familiar with all of them, and an additional perspective of the top bands coming from around the country can be quite useful.

How, then, can I justify column space for a band of national fame that didn't even book any dates in North Carolina on this tour? It would be tough, if we weren't talking about the Pixies (Nov. 25, Hammerstein Ballroom, NYC).

First, the Pixies are one of the most influential indie bands of all time (compare the verses on Pixies' "Gouge Away" and Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit," for starters). Pixies' use of explosive choruses to such an effective degree has been adopted by thousands of bands, and "Where Is My Mind?" is one of those songs that everybody just knows.

Second, the technical aspects of this performance were awe-inspiring. The tour was in honor of the 20th anniversary of the album "Doolittle," so the "opener" was the 35-minute, 15-song masterpiece. Other hits like "Bone Machine" and "Gigantic" rounded out the night, and everything seamlessly fit together to create a perfect set-list that makes any other touring band jealous.

On top of this, the sound quality was in its own league. These late-'80s tracks sounded as dynamic and explosive as they wanted to 20 years ago, but two decades of enhanced production and a quality venue brought them to a new level. The snare drum stayed a few decibels above the rest of the music, giving everything a pounding, pulsing rhythmic backing. Kim Deal's bass undercut the guitars, not stealing the spotlight but adding to the music. Frank Black's genre-defining yelps and fierce screams were given the meticulous attention they deserved, and Pixies cemented themselves as a classic.

Despite this unfathomable crispness, what made this concert worth writing about is a level of rawness that today's bands have started to lose. When the drums and bass got separated by a beat on "Bone Machine," they recovered so quickly that few people knew anything went wrong. As a unified tempo on "Velouria" seemed all but impossible, they simply cut it off early and moved on.

This is not to say Pixies were sloppy. The set was flawless besides those two gaffes. What it demonstrated was how a band could pay more attention to playing its collective heart out than just playing everything "right."

Many bands can play a flawless, mistake-free set and still fall short of sonic perfection. Sometimes those lapses of concentration being covered up by 20-plus years of experience are far more rewarding to the audience than remembering a technically tricky transition.

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Lonnie Walker/I Was Totally Destroying It (Tonight, Local 506) -- This is a free performance from some talented local bands. That's right, folks, here's a chance to support your local musicians without having to, well, monetarily support them. There's no good excuse for not coming out.

Lonnie Walker takes a driving rhythm section with a punk influence and adds it to self-professed Americana songwriting, and it's a perfect blend. Tracks like "Grape Juice" have strong, melodic hooks that transcend genre classification, and each instrument adds personality to the song.

I Was Totally Destroying It highlights the Chapel Hill brand of indie powerpop and adds a little more "power" than most local bands. The moods are more stated and dynamic, and a slight bit of anger and angst tinges catchy, poppy songs.

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Lost In The Trees (Sunday, Local 506) -- Last week, I wrote something about Ra Ra Riot having texture only strings can bring. Well, Lost In The Trees has a very pretty, traditional folk sound on songs such as "Song For The Painter" but becomes something entirely different when strings accent the verse on "Walk Around The Lake," bringing a chilling urgency that stands out against such pretty music.