Built to Spill & Mike Johnson

Allow me to pontificate. Let it be understood that indie rock shows shouldn’t have to be exciting spectacles. If your idea of a fun concert is limited to moshing, pogoing, throwing your hands in the air, shaking ass, line-dancing or other such physical endeavors, you’re probably not going to understand the allure of a show like Friday’s Built to Spill concert at The Senator. While musically fulfilling, bands of the dreamy, shoegazing variety are notoriously sparse with stage banter and antics, and if that’s what you’re looking for, sorry ‘bout your luck. See you at the next ICP show. Musical quality is not always determined by a hyped audience, and in this case, bundled arms crossed and slow nodding were the appropriate responses to Boise, ID’s Built to Spill and their tour mates.
With the initially sparse attendance slowly increasing, ex-Dinosaur Jr. bassist and Mark Lanegan collaborator Mike Johnson began his languorous set. Seated, strumming a Fender Telecaster and backed by a bassist and drummer, the gravel-voiced songsmith performed a number of sleepy tunes, most of which seeped through the theater like honey through a straw. His voice barely above a murmur and the instrumentalists’ pace rarely straying above a crawl, Mike Johnson’s set was decent, but not noteworthy. While the tones of the instruments and Johnson’s voice were on the mark, neither lyrics nor melodies were much to speak of, and when you’re playing said brand of sleepy indie rock, your words and/or tunes need to strike right down to the bone; Johnson and company managed to get about skin-deep. Later, when an acquaintance who arrived late asked me if they’d missed much, I had to reply, “No, not really.”
Please allow me another quick aside on show etiquette. When you’re at a general admittance show and you can’t see, just move somewhere else. Don’t tell the person in front of you to get out of the way. Their gumption got them a better spot, and so should yours. This is a rock show. Stop whining. Thank you.
Being somewhat of a Built to Spill novice (owning only two albums, one of which is a burned copy; sorry Mr. Martsch) and having never seen them in concert, only vaguely did I know what to expect. Luckily for me, I didn’t come in search of flashy gimmicks. Dressed down in T-shirts and flannels, looking approximately like four dudes fresh off a 12-hour shift at a cannery, Built to Spill began their set as they would later finish it: no fanfare, and little to say besides what was contained in the lyrics.
Led by singer / guitarist Doug Martsch, the foursome flowed from song to song, filling the cavernous hall with swirling guitar leads and steady rhythms. Melodically intensive songs like “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain” and “Strange,” the latter featuring Jim Roth’s spot-on slide guitar playing, found their way in the hour-plus set, which otherwise seemed to lean heavily toward longer, wandering jams. Some of their improvisational sections stayed a little past their welcome, offering plenty of time to close your eyes and drift off, but when Martsch began to sing, all ears perked up. Sadly, the attendance at this show was less than spectacular, but regardless, the band lived up to their musically sensational, if visually unexceptional, reputation.

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