Modest Mouse w/ Man Man and Love As Laughter @ BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama

Dogfighter28 · 05-08-2007, 01:35 PM

May 6, 2007:

Overall the Modest Mouse show at BJCC was good. Opening act Love as Laughter were pretty bland, though they did remind me of a less interesting Meat Puppets, so good for them. They kept bitching at the crowd for not standing up, which was not cool. You have to earn that right to get crunk with the crowd...which brings me to the second act, Man Man. What an amazing band. The best way I can describe them is this: imagine Tom Waits and Frank Zappa taking a trip to the middle east and bringing back 5 Saudi Arabian musicians with primitive drums. Add a dose of jazz and good ol' rock n roll, and you have Man Man. I'd never heard of them before, but sheesh, they brought the house down.

They are definitely strange, but the amount of energy they emanated attracted the attention of everyone, even the people that were there solely to hear "Float On". The lead singer was jumping off his stool, throwing water everywhere, singing his heart out, banging on the piano, beating everything in sight with a drum stick, and generally being awesome. The rest of the band was TIGHT, keeping tribal grooves with saxophones, drums, trumpets, strange flutes, and guitars. The highlight of the night was one song where every band member beat some sort of percussive instrument for about 3 minutes, and then the song completely fell apart, revealing a delicate melody which built to an excellent climax. Don't miss this band, please.

Modest Mouse then took about an hour to come out and play, but when they did, the crowd went bonkers. Isaac Brock and Johnny Marr just ooze COOL. They launched into "Paper Thin Walls", which had everyone creaming their pants right where they stood. Unfortunately, this was the best part of their set. The entire first half of their show was very good and energetic. Brock exchanged some words with the crowd: "To all you guys with the "Night on the Sun" banner... look... um... I don't want to be an asshole about it, but the band really doesn't know how to play it at this point!".

Where the band tremendously failed was in their extended jam sessions during "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" and "Trailer Trash". This was very surprising, as I was anxious to see these two songs in particular performed. Actually, it really wasn't the bands' fault - it was the sound crew. Whenever Isaac would violently attack his guitar strings, as he is wont to do, a wave of hissing feedback would attack the crowd. The bass was barely audible during "Tiny Cities...", which is a horrible sin. The most kinetic moment of the night happened during one part of that song, however, when Isaac and the crowd maniacally, unstoppably shouted the refrain: "Does anybody know a WAY that a body COULD GET AWAY???"

The heartbreaking climax of "Trailer Trash" sounded like a soundcheck gone wrong due to the sound issues, which was a crushing letdown. To have such a beautiful song tainted by technical problems is unforgivable. Not to mention, a bunch of mexican people were GRINDING during this song in front of me. Ironic, huh? Mexicans grinding during trailer trash. I'm pretty sure they all left at one point to go have sex or something, cause the guys all sat down and looked spent when they came back to the show. Some more tomfoolery went on during "Doin' the Cockroach", when two hooligans with dreadlocks bounded up onto the stage and danced around while the band jammed out. Once more, during the fantastic encore, "Spitting Venom", a dead ringer for Eminem jumped up into the spotlight and pumped his arms in the air.

Other things of note: Tom Pelosi's vocals in "We've Got Everything" were so bad they were hilarious. Please don't play this song without James Mercer, and if you do, don't have someone else do his vocals. Surprisingly, the recent songs were the best, with "Dashboard" and "Florida" pumping the crowd immensely with some tight playing from the band, and "Bukowski" and "The View" from Good News for People Who Love Bad News were both mindblowingly great. "Spitting Venom" was a great way to close the night, and it never seemed to end. From the opening chords, to the triumphant trumpet, to the relentless coda, this song is a wonder to behold live. Also, Brock was smoking a cigarette and singing at the same time near the end of the song, which is pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen. You could see puffs of smoke rising into the light show as all hell broke loose.

Overall, I give this show three stars out of five. Love as Laughter were forgettable, but Man Man made of for this with their one-of-a-kind show, which was easily the coolest live performance I've ever seen. Modest Mouse played well, but their lackluster setlist and short performance time were a huge dissapointment. When I pay 30 bucks to see a band, I want them to play for more than an hour and a half. If you're having doubts about seeing this band on tour, I'd say go, because Brock is very fun to watch do his vocal freakouts and spazz guitar solos, and Johnny Marr has made the band much tighter in a live setting. Just don't be surprised when they stop playing right when you are getting into it.

Setlist:
..>..>..>..>..>..>
Paper Thin Walls
We've Got Everything
Dashboard
Florida
Fire It Up
Bukowski
Float On
Fly Trapped In A Jar
Education
Trailer Trash (Extended)
Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes
> Lucky Me Again (Lyric Tease)
Missed The Boat
Doin' The Cockroach
Little Motel
The View

Encore:

Spitting Venom
> I Came As A Rat (Lyric Tease)

shannon · 05-08-2007, 01:39 PM

that is exactly the review i would have wrote about the providence show

if i wasn't so lazy

Shapan · 05-08-2007, 05:20 PM

we've got everything, florida, missed the boat, and fire it up are such terrible songs.

shannon · 05-08-2007, 05:21 PM

so i take it you don't like James Mercer...?

...missed the boat is awesome, Shapan!!!

Shapan · 05-08-2007, 05:26 PM

i cant stand the mercer tracks, the chorus of that particular song is sooo boring.

the last 5 songs on that album save it from being awful, those last 5 tracks are vintage modest mouse. (particularly invisible is amazing) i actually reviewed the album for our newspaper and i have it saved on the comp, but its not flattering. i ended up giving the album a 3/5.

neopryn · 05-08-2007, 05:29 PM

i reviewed it too but i had to hand it in the day after i got it so it's terrible.

missed the boat is okay and we've got everything took a while to grow on me but it has. it's pretty vintage with the shouting and stuff.

agreed on florida and fire it up though.

shannon · 05-08-2007, 05:31 PM

i was a little reluctant to give it all that much of a chance because i felt that it didn't sound like modest mouse, so i just wrote it off because i was disappointed. now, i can't get enough of it... it just makes me happy as fuck, as silly as that sounds

but yeah invisible is so good... i agree about fire it up too

shannon · 05-08-2007, 06:19 PM

sorry if you guys have you have seen this but it's fucking awesome

i love when it gets to 7:51 and 7:11

shannon · 05-08-2007, 06:23 PM

and 5:48

Shapan · 05-08-2007, 06:48 PM

hah that was pretty cool. id love to see isaac in the middle of writing a song, he really writes some of the most amazing stuff.

shannon what are your other favorite bands? i already know you're a queens and modest mouse fan, and those are two that are in my top 10.

shannon · 05-08-2007, 06:56 PM

hell yeah... i've watched that thing a million times... he's fucking amazing

my top listened to, right now, is the talking heads, yo la tengo, xiu xiu, rage, yoko ono, two gallants, metric, local h, devendra banhart, the decemberists, david allan coe, descartes a kant, bjork, yyy & akron/family

Shapan · 05-08-2007, 06:57 PM

good woman

shannon · 05-08-2007, 06:58 PM

it's hard for me to make a list top 10 favorites... i totally avoided that thread and tried so many times to make it but i couldnt

shannon · 05-08-2007, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shapan

good woman

Shapan · 05-08-2007, 07:03 PM

im suppose to interview emily haines when she gets back to the states for my little radio show, her booking agent said she'd be completely willing. im hoping the next time i see a tour date for california i can have her come down here and do it in person, maybe even get a performance out of it. im a big fan of metric, but i dont wanna pester them too much, hopefully i can just keep an eye out for it. im excited about it.

after my top 3 its getting harder for me to rank, but i enjoy those little lists i come up with, hah.

shannon · 05-08-2007, 07:06 PM

that's awesome! she is so cute

Shapan · 05-08-2007, 07:07 PM

BUY THIS CAR TO DRIVE TO WORK
DRIVE TO WORK TO PAY FOR THIS CAR

shannon · 05-08-2007, 07:11 PM

pass by the morning
though we both see it coming
we don't run
let the silence settle in our bones

Dogfighter28 · 05-08-2007, 08:13 PM

two videos that have popped up so far

modest mouse - missed the boat
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLzObWSdVE

man man
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIwRjIubUVc

is there a way to embed youtubes here?

mirrar · 05-09-2007, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shannon

that's awesome! she is so cute

i once found myself in a stairwell with metric (they were having sound problems) and i was on shrooms and doing vodka shots all night and i pet emily and said "don't worry you're so pretty"

but she wears too much barbiecore makeup up close

Shapan · 05-09-2007, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogfighter28

is there a way to embed youtubes here?

just paste the crap in the embed box here.

if you post links odds are no one will give a fuck about them

isnt emily haines like 40? she looks pretty damn good for that age, i wouldnt be surprised that she wears so much makeup.

mirrar · 05-09-2007, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shapan

just paste the crap in the embed box here.

if you post links odds are no one will give a fuck about them

isnt emily haines like 40? she looks pretty damn good for that age, i wouldnt be surprised that she wears so much makeup.

34. she's a lot prettier without all the barbie britney foundation

The Shit · 05-09-2007, 11:01 PM

i saw bob dylan at the bjcc

The Shit · 05-09-2007, 11:01 PM

and the foo fighters

Dogfighter28 · 05-09-2007, 11:10 PM

FUCK. I'm about to kill myself. Modest Mouse played COWBOY FUCKING DAN the show after the one I went to. They havent played that in ages!

Shapan · 05-09-2007, 11:13 PM

that song is a blast live. isaac retuned his geetar during the "every time you think you're walking" part, and it went on for like 2 minutes with the crowd singing it until isaac was ready.

The Shit · 05-09-2007, 11:15 PM

but not together

The Shit · 05-09-2007, 11:16 PM

i remember going to see MM when they were worth seeing

Quiet · 05-10-2007, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dogfighter28

FUCK. I'm about to kill myself. Modest Mouse played COWBOY FUCKING DAN the show after the one I went to. They havent played that in ages!

You referring to the show in New Orleans? If so, I was there! And yes, it was amazing. The review written in the first post could've been the review for the show I saw. Love As Laughter boring the hell out of everyone, Man Man going crazy and getting the croud insanely pumped up, Isaac coming out in a great mood, lots of sound problems, lots of nasty feedback, Isaac getting pissed and yelling at people between songs, Isaac getting happy again towards the end... all in all, I thought it was a great show. It helped that I was only about 15 feet from the stage.

Dogfighter28 · 05-10-2007, 11:48 AM

I was even more upset that they didn't play Breakthrough or Dramamine, though. They had been doing those throughout the tour, and we didn't get either

05-08-2007, 01:35 PM	#1
Dogfighter28 ILL KILL UR DOG Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 11,480	Modest Mouse w/ Man Man and Love As Laughter @ BJCC in Birmingham, Alabama May 6, 2007: Overall the Modest Mouse show at BJCC was good. Opening act Love as Laughter were pretty bland, though they did remind me of a less interesting Meat Puppets, so good for them. They kept bitching at the crowd for not standing up, which was not cool. You have to earn that right to get crunk with the crowd...which brings me to the second act, Man Man. What an amazing band. The best way I can describe them is this: imagine Tom Waits and Frank Zappa taking a trip to the middle east and bringing back 5 Saudi Arabian musicians with primitive drums. Add a dose of jazz and good ol' rock n roll, and you have Man Man. I'd never heard of them before, but sheesh, they brought the house down. They are definitely strange, but the amount of energy they emanated attracted the attention of everyone, even the people that were there solely to hear "Float On". The lead singer was jumping off his stool, throwing water everywhere, singing his heart out, banging on the piano, beating everything in sight with a drum stick, and generally being awesome. The rest of the band was TIGHT, keeping tribal grooves with saxophones, drums, trumpets, strange flutes, and guitars. The highlight of the night was one song where every band member beat some sort of percussive instrument for about 3 minutes, and then the song completely fell apart, revealing a delicate melody which built to an excellent climax. Don't miss this band, please. Modest Mouse then took about an hour to come out and play, but when they did, the crowd went bonkers. Isaac Brock and Johnny Marr just ooze COOL. They launched into "Paper Thin Walls", which had everyone creaming their pants right where they stood. Unfortunately, this was the best part of their set. The entire first half of their show was very good and energetic. Brock exchanged some words with the crowd: "To all you guys with the "Night on the Sun" banner... look... um... I don't want to be an asshole about it, but the band really doesn't know how to play it at this point!". Where the band tremendously failed was in their extended jam sessions during "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes" and "Trailer Trash". This was very surprising, as I was anxious to see these two songs in particular performed. Actually, it really wasn't the bands' fault - it was the sound crew. Whenever Isaac would violently attack his guitar strings, as he is wont to do, a wave of hissing feedback would attack the crowd. The bass was barely audible during "Tiny Cities...", which is a horrible sin. The most kinetic moment of the night happened during one part of that song, however, when Isaac and the crowd maniacally, unstoppably shouted the refrain: "Does anybody know a WAY that a body COULD GET AWAY???" The heartbreaking climax of "Trailer Trash" sounded like a soundcheck gone wrong due to the sound issues, which was a crushing letdown. To have such a beautiful song tainted by technical problems is unforgivable. Not to mention, a bunch of mexican people were GRINDING during this song in front of me. Ironic, huh? Mexicans grinding during trailer trash. I'm pretty sure they all left at one point to go have sex or something, cause the guys all sat down and looked spent when they came back to the show. Some more tomfoolery went on during "Doin' the Cockroach", when two hooligans with dreadlocks bounded up onto the stage and danced around while the band jammed out. Once more, during the fantastic encore, "Spitting Venom", a dead ringer for Eminem jumped up into the spotlight and pumped his arms in the air. Other things of note: Tom Pelosi's vocals in "We've Got Everything" were so bad they were hilarious. Please don't play this song without James Mercer, and if you do, don't have someone else do his vocals. Surprisingly, the recent songs were the best, with "Dashboard" and "Florida" pumping the crowd immensely with some tight playing from the band, and "Bukowski" and "The View" from Good News for People Who Love Bad News were both mindblowingly great. "Spitting Venom" was a great way to close the night, and it never seemed to end. From the opening chords, to the triumphant trumpet, to the relentless coda, this song is a wonder to behold live. Also, Brock was smoking a cigarette and singing at the same time near the end of the song, which is pretty much the coolest thing I've ever seen. You could see puffs of smoke rising into the light show as all hell broke loose. Overall, I give this show three stars out of five. Love as Laughter were forgettable, but Man Man made of for this with their one-of-a-kind show, which was easily the coolest live performance I've ever seen. Modest Mouse played well, but their lackluster setlist and short performance time were a huge dissapointment. When I pay 30 bucks to see a band, I want them to play for more than an hour and a half. If you're having doubts about seeing this band on tour, I'd say go, because Brock is very fun to watch do his vocal freakouts and spazz guitar solos, and Johnny Marr has made the band much tighter in a live setting. Just don't be surprised when they stop playing right when you are getting into it. Setlist: ..>..>..>..>..>..> Paper Thin Walls We've Got Everything Dashboard Florida Fire It Up Bukowski Float On Fly Trapped In A Jar Education Trailer Trash (Extended) Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes > Lucky Me Again (Lyric Tease) Missed The Boat Doin' The Cockroach Little Motel The View Encore: Spitting Venom > I Came As A Rat (Lyric Tease)

05-08-2007, 01:39 PM	#2
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	that is exactly the review i would have wrote about the providence show if i wasn't so lazy

05-08-2007, 05:20 PM	#3
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	we've got everything, florida, missed the boat, and fire it up are such terrible songs.

05-08-2007, 05:21 PM	#4
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	so i take it you don't like James Mercer...? ...missed the boat is awesome, Shapan!!!

05-08-2007, 05:26 PM	#5
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	i cant stand the mercer tracks, the chorus of that particular song is sooo boring. the last 5 songs on that album save it from being awful, those last 5 tracks are vintage modest mouse. (particularly invisible is amazing) i actually reviewed the album for our newspaper and i have it saved on the comp, but its not flattering. i ended up giving the album a 3/5.

05-08-2007, 05:29 PM	#6
neopryn let's see your penis! Location: i had a few beers, but i'm cool to drive Posts: 31,847	i reviewed it too but i had to hand it in the day after i got it so it's terrible. missed the boat is okay and we've got everything took a while to grow on me but it has. it's pretty vintage with the shouting and stuff. agreed on florida and fire it up though.

05-08-2007, 05:31 PM	#7
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	i was a little reluctant to give it all that much of a chance because i felt that it didn't sound like modest mouse, so i just wrote it off because i was disappointed. now, i can't get enough of it... it just makes me happy as fuck, as silly as that sounds but yeah invisible is so good... i agree about fire it up too

05-08-2007, 06:19 PM	#8
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	sorry if you guys have you have seen this but it's fucking awesome i love when it gets to 7:51 and 7:11

05-08-2007, 06:23 PM	#9
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	and 5:48

05-08-2007, 06:48 PM	#10
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	hah that was pretty cool. id love to see isaac in the middle of writing a song, he really writes some of the most amazing stuff. shannon what are your other favorite bands? i already know you're a queens and modest mouse fan, and those are two that are in my top 10.

05-08-2007, 06:56 PM	#11
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	hell yeah... i've watched that thing a million times... he's fucking amazing my top listened to, right now, is the talking heads, yo la tengo, xiu xiu, rage, yoko ono, two gallants, metric, local h, devendra banhart, the decemberists, david allan coe, descartes a kant, bjork, yyy & akron/family

05-08-2007, 06:57 PM	#12
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	good woman

05-08-2007, 06:58 PM	#13
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	it's hard for me to make a list top 10 favorites... i totally avoided that thread and tried so many times to make it but i couldnt

05-08-2007, 07:03 PM	#15
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	im suppose to interview emily haines when she gets back to the states for my little radio show, her booking agent said she'd be completely willing. im hoping the next time i see a tour date for california i can have her come down here and do it in person, maybe even get a performance out of it. im a big fan of metric, but i dont wanna pester them too much, hopefully i can just keep an eye out for it. im excited about it. after my top 3 its getting harder for me to rank, but i enjoy those little lists i come up with, hah.

05-08-2007, 07:06 PM	#16
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	that's awesome! she is so cute

05-08-2007, 07:07 PM	#17
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	BUY THIS CAR TO DRIVE TO WORK DRIVE TO WORK TO PAY FOR THIS CAR

05-08-2007, 07:11 PM	#18
shannon Minion of Satan Location: i am a reptile Posts: 7,231	pass by the morning though we both see it coming we don't run let the silence settle in our bones

05-08-2007, 08:13 PM	#19
Dogfighter28 ILL KILL UR DOG Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 11,480	two videos that have popped up so far modest mouse - missed the boat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZLzObWSdVE man man http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIwRjIubUVc is there a way to embed youtubes here?

05-09-2007, 11:01 PM	#23
The Shit Demi-God Posts: 254	i saw bob dylan at the bjcc

05-09-2007, 11:10 PM	#25
Dogfighter28 ILL KILL UR DOG Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 11,480	FUCK. I'm about to kill myself. Modest Mouse played COWBOY FUCKING DAN the show after the one I went to. They havent played that in ages!

05-09-2007, 11:13 PM	#26
Shapan Socialphobic Location: intellectual hobo Posts: 11,794	that song is a blast live. isaac retuned his geetar during the "every time you think you're walking" part, and it went on for like 2 minutes with the crowd singing it until isaac was ready.

05-09-2007, 11:15 PM	#27
The Shit Demi-God Posts: 254	but not together

05-09-2007, 11:16 PM	#28
The Shit Demi-God Posts: 254	i remember going to see MM when they were worth seeing

05-10-2007, 11:48 AM	#30
Dogfighter28 ILL KILL UR DOG Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 11,480	I was even more upset that they didn't play Breakthrough or Dramamine, though. They had been doing those throughout the tour, and we didn't get either