No one should be forced to follow The Flaming Lips...unless you’re Modest Mouse. When I first saw the order in which these two bands had been lined up, I couldn’t believe the festival had made such an errant mistake. But then I found myself, midway through an illustrious performance by this Northwest treasure, realizing that Isaac Brock can compete with any band, or any other rival frontman (Wayne Coyne is in no way an arch nemesis to Brock, but you get the picture). Brock even caused me to do a double-take when I heard the words, “One of the things I saw today almost brought a tear to my eye,” come out of his mouth. I smiled when he continued, revealing it had been as he watched The Flaming Lips that night.
Modest Mouse truly did put on a helluva show, and it definitely failed to be overshadowed by the previous act’s performance. It also reminded me that they are not just some out-of-the-box rock band. To start, they are masters of mood creation, and that extends to each and every song they play. And it's easy for a fan to get swept up in their tumbling music as it rolls through tempo after tempo, and style after style. For this set, the band played an ideal collection of songs, opening with “Shit Luck” and proceeding to play three straight from yours truly’s list of personal favorites: “Gravity Rides Everything,” “Dashboard” and “Bukowski.” Everybody was ecstatic to hear “Float On” toward the end, but their choice to close with the sassily macho “Spitting Venom” was near perfect.
Brock brought zero attitude to the festival set, and an almost friendly demeanor, which made me question all those stories I’ve heard of his belligerence in years past. It was fantastic to see and hear Modest Mouse in such great form, and I think that had a lot to do with the expert delivery Brock gave to it.
