WORDS AND IMAGES BY PAUL EVANS
“The Show has been an impeccable adrenaline ride by a band at the top of their game and a band who have being doing it their way for 30 years. Long may it continue”
It’s a warm, sunny night and I’m in Manchester’s cavernous Albert Hall early. Even without a band playing, the former Wesleyan Chapel offers an impressive atmosphere. Walls are covered in tiles and peeling paint from a bygone era and the seated balcony looms over the stage floor already full of teenage, mid-twenties and thirty-year-old fans. A testament to tonight’s headliners Modest Mouse’s 30-year career as one of the most unpredictable and successful American indie bands. Tonight’s gig is one of only three UK dates in support of their seventh album ‘The Golden Casket’, 12 months after its release and although the heatwave has subsided it’s very, very hot in the listed building. I’m told Manchester legend Johnny Marr is in the building, but we’ll have to wait and see if it’s true.
In support of the Pacific Northwest band tonight is celebrated Derry singer-songwriter Bridie Monds-Watson, better known as SOAK. They first erupted onto the indie scene with the 2015 release of their emotive and stunning debut single ‘Sea Creatures’ and Mercury prize nominated debut album ‘Before We Forgot How to Dream’. Tonight’s acoustic set of delicate vocals, incredibly haunting melodies and personal, emotional songs has the hairs on the back of my neck standing up. It’s incredible to hear SOAK’s lo-fi folk songs in such an intimate way. I’ll certainly be heading for their headline gig at YES in Manchester in October to hear them in their full glory based on this set.
The buildings coloured glass rooflights and stained-glass windows show that’s it’s just about light out-side as Modest Mouse step onto to the blue lit stage with two drumkits and a mass of instruments to an onslaught of applause. Formed in 1992, the band has metamorphised considerably over the years and of the eight or nine musicians who play tonight and with the continuous changing of roles I can only definitely confirm frontman Isaac Brock, drummer Jeremiah Green, percussionist Ben Massarella, bassist Russell Higbee and newest member, guitarist Simon O’Connor.
They kick off with the meandering ‘3rd Planet’ from the 2000 classic album “The Moon & Antarctica”. Issac’s wavering acoustic guitar and tormented harmonious vocals are interspersed with Jeremiah’s stomping drums and Simon’s dripping reverb guitar perfectly in the blue lights as the audience join in with “Everything that keeps me together is falling apart”. It’s a relatively quiet start before the loud/quiet/loud quaking surf pop of 1996s ‘Breakthrough’ has the audience bouncing. 2021 single ‘We Are Between’ ends the first three songs, it’s modern infectious pop-infused riff bouncing off the venue’s archways and enticing the sweating crowd to bounce even more.
Modest Mouse always mix up their set lists from one show to the next and tonight is no exception. It’s a carefully thought out, blinding set packed with classics played perfectly from just about every album they’ve released to date. ‘We’re Lucky’; ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’; ‘Night on the Sun’; ‘Never Fuck a Spider on the Fly’; ‘Trailer Trash’; the dirty shudder of ‘Doin’ the Cockroach’ all have the audience singing, dancing and stabbing the air. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I saw so many mixed emotions of awe, happiness and ecstasy in a gig crowd. It’s a joy to see to be honest.
Individually and as a group, the band have a thoroughly exquisite musical understanding as they swap instruments almost for every song and watching Ben Massarella’s playing at such close quarters is an absolute joy to watch. His percussion nuances, including soda can percussion really adding to the overall depth of the songs.
As the night continues, the crowd energetically jump and sing through the mixture of further classic songs from the bands whole career. ‘Wooden Soldiers’; ‘Bukowski’; ‘This Devil’s Workday’; ‘Leave a Light On’; ‘Lampshades on Fire’. The foot stomping, fist-pumping, anthemic optimism of ‘Float On’ and the twisted, guitar distortion and passionate, spitting vocals of ‘Dramamine’ particular highlights for me and the hot, singing, finger pointing crowd. The main set concludes with the loud/quiet/loud brass fanfares, delicate steam train drumming and Marr guitar of “Dashboard”. The crowd being fed copious amounts of water by the excellent security. Sadly, the Manchester music legend didn’t appear on stage, but as the band left stage, I thought you know what, they didn’t need him tonight. They are on fire.
The slow handclaps began almost immediately the band left and when they didn’t return for five minutes, I really thought the balcony was going to collapse when everybody began to stamp their feet, slowly at first, getting gladiatorially faster and louder. The five-song encore began in a similar vein to the main set with the slow, delay-soaked electric guitar and bop, bops of the opening ‘The World at Large’ before the freak-out psyche, stabbing guitars and unrelenting drumming of ‘Fuck Your Acid Trip’ had the audience jumping. The infectious guitar lick, grimy guitar and swing, swooping drums of ‘Back to the Middle’ ended what was an exquisite, blissful song set. Tonight, has been an impeccable adrenaline ride by a band at the top of their game and a band who have being doing it their way for 30 years. Long may it continue.
SET LIST
1/ 3rd Planet
2/ Breakthrough
3/ We Are Between
4/ We’re Lucky
5/ Ocean Breathes Salty
6/ Night on the Sun
7/ Never Fuck a Spider on the Fly
8/ Trailer Trash (Perpetual Motion Machine outro)
9/ Doin’ the Cockroach
10/ Float On
11/ Wooden Soldiers
12/ Bukowski
13/ This Devil’s Workday
14/ Dramamine (Life Like Weeds outro)
15/ Leave a Light On
16/ Lampshades on Fire
17/ Dashboard
Encore:
18/ The World at Large
19/ Fuck Your Acid Trip
20/ Fire It Up
21/ Wicked Campaign
22/ Back to the Middle
FOLLOW MODEST MOUSE
FOLLOW SOAK
I’ve loved music since forever. Graphic designer, photographer and artist at painted.papillon.smile (www.ppsdesign.co.uk)
