Modest Mouse & The Walkmen

Few things are more exciting to me than watching bands play at ample venues. For too long, denizens of our fair college hovel were expected to be able to attend a number of large rock concerts at a less-than-large facility, the defeated Brick Works. This night, the stage was set for the maiden voyage of the newly renovated Senator Theatre, complete with Warfield-esque aesthetics and enough music fans to encourage a musty air and a dreadfully hot environment. Nevertheless, with the newly famous Modest Mouse poised to emit fatal levels of cool throughout their set, few in attendance could complain much.
Assuming the position of opener were New York’s The Walkmen, who (rumor had it) were something of an “experience” as a live entity and whose rousing performance on this particular evening sent sonic memorandums through virtually every patron’s frail physique. To say that The Walkmen were very good would be a supreme understatement. Vocalist Hamilton Leithauser paced and bellowed, screamed and writhed in spastic defiance to the subtle, endearing tones emitted by his band, and exposed the audience to what may be the most emotionally draining live group touring the nation today. Rarely were there any moments to let the crowd blink their eyes, let alone wipe the emerging sweat off of their brows, as The Walkmen proceeded to produce one deviously grating song after another and left me wondering whether or not Modest Mouse had done their homework properly by inviting a superior live band to open their first tour as VH1 darlings. All the same, those who may have been unfamiliar with this excellent band were now adequately exposed and were concurrently duped into buying mass amounts of their merchandise.
After the “experience” of The Walkmen, there seemed to be a shift from enlightenment to sheer dehydration, which many felt compelled to cure with mass amounts of Senator Ale for three dollars a cup, and bottles of water for undisclosed monetary amounts. This shift seemed to go on for almost as long as The Walkmen performed, and as it was soon ascertained that the show was being delayed due to some sort of snooping invasion from the local Fire Marshal. However, relatively quickly, the problem was sorted out and the evening’s headliners trotted onstage to thunderous applause and pristine gratitude. Modest Mouse seemed to have a much larger following than they did the last time they came through town and used their newfound notoriety to pummel the now drenched crowd with quirky pop perfection. Bending the rock show rules a bit by playing their current radio and MTV hit “Float On” third in their set, Modest Mouse delivered a relentless set of new tunes, as well as songs from their lesser known records, all driven by the steady beat of original drummer Jeremiah Green, who recently reunited with the band. Vocalist/guitarist Isaac Brock related bathroom stories from Europe and invoked the most appealing qualities of Frank Black throughout the group’s set and into their three-song encore.
In all, what was very much a celebration — being that both Modest Mouse and The Walkmen were casualties of the cancellation of Lollapalooza — turned out also to be a fitting opening show for this ambitious new venue, and reinforced the idea that indie rock doesn’t necessarily have to be intimate to be appealing.

Bookmark:

Comments down for maintenance.