Concert Review: Modest Mouse

“It is not Fucking Summer Time Yet”

This joking statement by Modest Mouse front-man Isaac Brock pierced through the cold Bend air as the band took the stage of the Les Schwab Amphitheater. A bit of a sly joke at the idea of having an outdoor concert so early in the season.

However, with the first notes of the band’s opener, the banjo-laden folk-stomper “Satin in a Coffin”, the temperature quickly began to rise.

The large gathering quickly learned a small science lesson, is hard to stay cold when you can’t stand still.

This show was a bit of redemption for me, as I foolishly didn’t go to a show they played at the Washington State Student Union in Pullman when I was in college nearly 10 years ago. (A decision I still regret). But what made the evening even more fulfilling was the wide scope of the selected set-list.

The band played an equal selection of their more recent tunes that gained them international fame as well as older tracks to keep more seasoned MM supporters satisfied.

One criticism of the band over the last few years is that with more recent and more “radio-friendly” tracks like “Dashboard” the band had sold-out. I would say that those nay-sayers were not listening close enough, or just haven’t seen them live lately. The bands catalogue is seamless when spread out on a wider canvas.

Older tracks like “Doin the Cockroach” blend together so well with newer faire like the mega-hit “Float On” they may as well have been on the same album.

The three song encore was a testament to the band’s more recent success featuring “Bury Me With it” (from 2004’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News) and new single “Fly Trapped in a Jar” before closing it down with the B-Side “King Rat”.

With that the Memorial weekend in Bend was finished. Even though it might not be summer yet. The summer concert season has kicked off in grand fashion.