Modest Mouse has been my favourite band for quite awhile, almost to the point of it getting ridiculous. In the two years that I've had a last.fm account, for example, I've managed to listen to them well over twice as many times as their closest competitor. Not that I particularly mind... there's just something about the band that lets me listen to them over and over again; it may be the deceivingly catchy way their songs are written, Isaac Brock's headstrong personality, or maybe the poetic, ponderous way his words often resonate with me. Probably a combination of all of these...
But, regardless of why I like Modest Mouse so much, the concert on the 5th was a treat for any music fan. Sure, longtime fans were there in full force, but so were the newly converted, and a few people I talked to who'd never heard the band at all but decided to come along, either at the last minute or just on the faith of a friend's word that it would be an experience worth having.
Love is Laughter and Man Man were terrific openers for the show. I heard some grumbling about Love is Laughter being boring, but I thought they were quite earnest and heartfelt. The singer's voice also reminded me of the guy from Band of Horses, which isn't a bad thing at all. Man Man was insane; constantly multitasking, switching instruments, drumming, strumming, tapping, blowing, yelling, tooting, dancing, chanting, on and on, often simultaneously. I'm not sure if I could listen to them recorded, but I'll give it a shot.
Modest Mouse took their time getting to the stage after the openers, and the pit packed itself tight in anticipation. The front, where we'd staked our spots out as best we could, definitely felt the effects, with many an "Oh, hey, sorry about that, it's not my fault, ya know?" from people being forced to crush others.
The setlist was new-material heavy, and probably the weakest part of the show. Not that that's really saying anything, though; it barely affected the incredible momentum created by Isaac Brock, Johnny goddamn Marr, and the rest of the band. Marr's integration into the band is seamless, and a solid addition. Show highlights for me included Isaac screaming into his guitar pick-ups, Isaac (drunkenly?) saying "You took a picture? Fuck you." to some jerk looking to get a shot of a girl after she fainted, the way the keyboardist looked like Tom Waits' and Chuck Norris' love child, the twin drummers, Here It Comes, Paper Thin Walls, Bukowski, Satin in a Coffin, Cockroach, Broke, and, of course, the very awesome extended Tiny Cities Made of Ashes. Basically every second Modest Mouse was on stage was incredible... highlights sort of stop being special when you can't stop listing stuff, eh?
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