Modest Mouse w/ Japanese Motors and special guest – Mimicking Birds
One thing is for sure…the economy hasn’t stopped the under 21 crowd from showing up in droves to these shows.
At approximately 8:15 pm, the show was kick started with the Japanese Motors playing a fairly short set..probably clocking in under a half hour. I have seen many different opinions on this band, most of which were positive. Myself…I didn’t really dig it too much. It wasn’t that it was terrible though, to me it just seemed like the same old rhetoric. General rock playing quarter notes on the bass, ad nauseum. It is really a personal preference. If you like the band, great for you. I’m just tired of hearing the same old thing over and over…which is part of the reason that I love Modest Mouse.
After about twenty or more minutes, Mimicking Birds took the stage. Again, with the other reviews I have read, these guys probably got the worst of the review for everyone, except for me. I thought that they were pretty great and I look forward to hearing more of their stuff in the future. The start out with a six string electric, six string acoustic, and a small drum set. My first impression was instantly – Band of Horses – who coincidentally opened for Modest Mouse last summer. As the set progressed though, these guys would tune down and up their guitars as they went, providing much more roving guitar lines and technicality than most music from Band of Horses. They also had a single singer who used a voice delay box which was pretty neat to see that live and how it worked in to the music. I definitely recommend you at least check them out when you get a chance. If it isn’t your thing, no big deal, but it doesn’t hurt to go outside your musical comfort zone once in a while. 
Then the wait, and wait, and wait, and wait….and pretty soon we are going on 45 minutes to an hour of sound check. This didn’t really surprise me though. They have a lot of stuff when you consider two drum kits, probably 4-5 guitar per person (x3), the keyboard, the stand-up bass…it goes on. They also had about an hour sound check at the City Market last year. Unfortunately it was boiling outside at the City Market and unfortunately for us, it was starting to boil inside the uptown. To boot, all the high school kids were beginning to aggrevate. All those turds who try to push up in front of you and then get in your way…ahhh the life of live music. I feel bad for small girls..they can’t see anything, ever.
The opening song was a rip-roaring ‘Bury Me With It’ for a ravenous crowd. This was a great song to start off with because the song was familiar to everyone and it allowed Isaac to warm up his “shout fit”. I really don’t know how to explain it if you aren’t familiar with Modest Mouse and never seen anything live/music videos. It is very commanding and definitely brings the crowd into the song, every time. If there is something that Modest Mouse would be known by forever, that “shout fit” would be it.
After ‘Bury Me,’ they went right into a long version of “Never Ending Math.” At the end of the song, the band stopped, Isaac said “hello” and what not, meanwhile some tard from front side of the stage shouts, “Play some old shit!” Isaac fired back, “Old shit! Are you kidding me? That song is probably older than you are!” Then Issac goes on to say that he was now grumpy and that he was going to play some old shit but then had changed his mind because of this guy. Obviously he was kidding as Modest Mouse then proceeds to play six of nine songs that are as old or older than their “Antartica and the Moon” album.
Some of my favorites on the night were “Wild Pack of Family Dogs,” “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” and “Custom Concern.” The concert overall was a real treat. It was hot as hell, we were packed in there like sardines with people dropping like flies from exhaustion, but I wouldn’t miss any of it and I will definitely go to their next concert when they roll through town again.
I apologize to the little kids who went home disappointed because they only played two songs you know. LOL
Setlist: Bury Me With It, Never Ending Math, The View, Dramamine, Wild Packs of Family Dogs,Tiny Cities Made of Ashes, Custom Concern, Float On, Bukowski, Interstate 8, All Nite Diner, Parting of the Sensory. Encore: Third Planet, Satellite Skin, Dashboard, Baby Blue Sedan, Black Cadillacs.
what time did modest mouse finally go on?
I think it was right about 10 P.M.
The opening act was Tab the Band, then it was Japanese Motors and Mimicking Birds. Tab was a decent band, a good way to start the night.