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March 12, 2005
Modest Mouse At The Showbox
Last night a bunch of us went to see Modest Mouse at The Showbox. It was my first time at The Showbox, and the first time I went to a 21+ show in the US. A couple observations:
- When doors open at 8:00, it means the opening band will be on at 9:30, and the headlining band by 11:30.
- The opening act was The Thermals, with whom I was not particularly impressed. It was a typical 3-chord garage band with a lot of screaming. Maybe I'm just getting old and out-of-touch, but I think their entire hour-long set sounded the same.
- What's up with the opening act playing an hour-long set, anyway?
- The crowd seemed to dig The Thermals. At any one time I could see at least two hands in the air giving the rock-on horns.
- Modest Mouse put on a great show. For a couple of songs they even busted out an upright bass and a banjo to accompany their two drummers and organ player.
- I had no idea there were 8 members of Modest Mouse.
- Before The Thermals went on, three members of MM came out playing a fiddle, a flute, and an accordion, respectively. It was very cool.
- $20 for a poster?!
- Like I said, this was my first time at a 21+ show in the US, and I was shocked at how poorly people behaved. Some fans were throwing full cups of booze at the stage, while others were falling over drunk by the time MM came on. I saw bouncers "escort" at least five people out during MM's set. I don't know if this attitude of getting absolutely trashed at a concert is due to the fact MM came on so late, or because of social attitudes towards drinking in the US, but it made me think twice about my championing a lower drinking age. If 21+ year-olds are this irresponsible, no wonder the government doesn't want 19-year-olds to drink.
- Overall I had a good time, and am interested in exploring some more of MM's music.
Comments
Well, this was neither my first time at the Showbox nor my first over-21 U.S. show. I have NEVER seen that high a percentage of falling-down (literally) drunk people at a show before. I went down on the floor to get closer to the stage and had to leave when a person about to crash started making larger and larger spirals in their attempt to stay upright. MODEST MOUSE!!
Posted by: Teresa at March 13, 2005 5:45 PM
That sounds great. Seems like they are very talented musicians. It’s a wonder that these abilities didn’t manage to transfer over into their song writing skills. There’s still plenty of time to progress, I suppose.
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Posted by: at March 14, 2005 6:42 AM
i really wish i can see Modest Mouse one day real soon ... but local shows here are still great and very cheap too.
i tried to get tickets to the Nine Inch Nails concert in Toronto but it was sold out so fast ... wish i could have gone to that too.
Posted by: tylerkday at March 15, 2005 5:36 PM