Live music review: Modest Mouse 25th birthday of Lonesome Crowded West at ACL Live
The sold-out Modest Mouse performance on Monday at ACL Live celebrated the 25th birthday of the band’s lauded Lonesome Crowded West album. The indie-rock recording gem is often cited as one of the best records of the 90s and for good reason. The fifteen track record demonstrates both songwriter Isaac Brock’s penchant for writing lyrics that hit the listener close to home and their ability to deliver those lines well amid a myriad of musical styles in a era where mashing genres nearly became a cliche, Modest Mouse flourished.
Previous Modest Mouse shows have been good, but inconsistent. Even the memorable Fun Fun Fun Fest at Austin Auditorium Shores with a shooting star streaking above the Orange Stage left fans wanting. Brock the band (Jeremiah Green, Russell Higbee, and Simon O’Connor) made ensured fans got what they came for.
The performance saw Brock in a good mood, trading his well-known penchant for sprawling, angry ,rock n roll garden gnome (he’s very short) monologues to a few sentences on how much the group was enjoying the tour and that he’d better not say too much so as to save his voice for the show. The focus on the music set the right tone for a great evening.
The set list featured the songs from the album played in the same order as the recording’s track listing rendering the concert predictable. That fact chilled out some of the hardcore fans in attendance who at your garden variety Modest Mouse show would have been incessantly yelling out requests for their favorite tune (among other things), which can be annoying. With more positive energy leading into the show and less crazed fanboy moments, the ACL Live audience were treated to the best Modest Mouse performance The Cosmic Clash has covered to date.
It’s hard to choose a favorite moment from the show. Fans got into the punk-rock infused, “Shit Luck,” moshing with abandon. The unabashed energy flowed from the crowd to the stage. You could tell Brock was pleased with the visceral response. The intensity of the tune, “Trailer Trash” cannot be discounted with Brock forcefully belting out the words nor the impressive jam-out that is the rarely performed “Lounge (Closing Time).” It all added up to Modest Mouse displaying their strength in presenting great songs within a wide range of genres in a venue with impeccable sound, thus heightening an already elevated experience.
The band closed the set with TLCW’s final track, “Styrofoam Boots / It’s All Nice on Ice, Alright” before leaving the stage. They returned several minutes later to complete the 140 minute performance with a four-song encore that included “Dramamine” from their debut album This is A Long Drive for Someone With Nothing To Think About along with “Grey Ice Water” from their album Building Nothing Out Of Something. Both tracks are deep cuts the band hasn’t played since the early 2000s.
Find remaining tour dates including back to back shows at DC’s 9:30 Club here.
All photos by Michael Maly
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