Modest Mouse - November 5, 2007

Despite being extremely ill, I went to the Modest Mouse concert at The Odeon last night. There were two opening bands before then Modest Mouse hit the stage. The first opening band was nondescript and borderline boring. However, Man Man was the second band and they were fantastic. They came on stage adorned in all-white outfits, face paint, and messy hair. All of the members of the band sang and did crazy things. Their stage presence was amazing and they were extremely high-energy. It was really just as much a theatrical performance as a musical one. While the band was good, I knew that this was not a very friendly crowd as people pushed, pulled, and elbowed their way in front of people in order to try to get a "good spot"... presumably to see Modest Mouse.

Because I stand at just under 5 feet tall, I always try to get near the front for concerts and there were lots of tall, inconsiderate guys. So I got near the front by using my master crowd-timing techniques. We stood there patiently waiting for Modest Mouse to make their grandiose appearance. However, the crowd was a rowdy one. When Modest Mouse finally did take the stage, the crowd went crazy. People were literally pressed up against each other. As my partner pointed out, it was no "Rage against the Machine at Coachella," but to me it might as well have been. It was uncomfortable for a short period of time, but I learned to let go of my personal space wants and just went with the flow. At least I did that until the crowd loosened up a bit and we could actually breathe. That is when the show really started for me.

Modest Mouse... what a band. I have many thoughts and opinions on them and their performance. First of all, I don't care what band you are, but if you take 5 minutes to get on stage after the lights go out, you're an asshole. Plain and simple. Secondly, their new album is not even close to my favorite one and after the show, I was not inspired to give it another chance. Thirdly, their performance wasn't the greatest - they weren't very tight as a band (except for the two drummers, who were amazing) and Isaak Brock's vocals were pretty weak. Also, there were more than a few sound mistakes made.

After they were done the first set, I wondered whether they would come back on stage. My partner was excited when Modest Mouse took their sweet time getting back because it was the first real encore he's seen in years. For me, the best thing about them taking so long to come back for the encore was the song they played, "Satin in a Coffin" (or known to me as the "Are you Dead or are you sleeping?" song) I never would have imagined that they would play that song and it was a welcomed surprise. They also played a decent version of "Float On" during their first set. Their encore was about three or four songs long and it was the best part of the show, in my opinion.

One other highlight was when Isaak Brock told a girl in the audience to "Fuck off" because she took a picture of a girl* who had passed out from being pushed up against the railing at the front and he gave her the finger too. I thought it was cool of him to be so aware of the crowd and speak his mind, but that is kind of their attitude. They are super rock stars... but in my opinion, they don't have the show to back it up.

All-in-all, a mediocre show and a terrible crowd. If they come back, I'll probably sit that one out... or I'll just go with even lower expectations.
Crystal's rating: 5.5/10

*I talked to the passed out girl before MM took the stage and her and her boyfriend had driven here from Edmonton for this show... so I really hope she's okay