Modest Mouse & the Vells

Never in my life have I seen such polite concert goers. After just about every song played that night, almost everyone in the audience was clapping, and a lot were giving their screaming approval. That's pretty tight.
First up were the Vells. Coming straight outta Seattle, The Vells rocked it. Their first song was a solo by the keyboard-playing lead vocalist which got some of the crowd to pay attention, but after the full band came out, the crowd started to take notice. The Vells rocked through several songs, all receiving the support and appreciation of the mass. They finished their set to an ocean of clapping hands.
After hearing cheers of, "Isaac is God," I was a little worried. I wasn't sure if the fans were going to rush stage and bombard him or burst into tears simply upon his presence. With the fans being ever so courteous, Modest Mouse started up their set. They started off with "Never Ending Math Equation," and played about every other song of theirs that the crowd wanted to hear, including; "Talking Shit About A Pretty Sunset," "3rd Planet" and "Paper Thin Walls." In between almost every song, The Lord would light a cigarette, change his guitar, take a sip of beer and stare somewhat blankly into the sea of His adoring fans and then jump into another song, with the crowd's full attention.
This was the first time I had ever seen Modest Mouse in concert, and I was very satisfied with their performance. I never claimed to be their biggest fan, but it seemed as if 75 percent of everyone there was. Girls were singing and dancing (kinda) and guys were head nodding, and lip-syncing along, so everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. The band sounded excellent live. If anything, I think they sounded more rough than the emo / indie rock label they get attached to. Isaac didn't sound as whiney to me as his recorded voice does, which was a plus. After they finished their set, the crowd went wild. Everyone knew they were going to play an encore, so the crowd was screaming and yelling, waiting for them to come back on stage. The moment His flannel shirt was in sight, the place went ape shit. They played a few more songs and everyone left with a smile.
- Paul Davis
- Photos by Myles Stenger

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