Friday, June 20, 2008

Modest Mouse at MHW 6/20


So I was lucky to get a pair of tickets yesterday afternoon to the late night/early morning Modest Mouse show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg last night and it was definitely one of the more memorable concert experiences I’ve had.

I showed up at 1AM (when doors were scheduled to open) only to wait outside the MHW for almost an hour and endure the endless “do you have an extra ticket” questioning by everyone who walked by.

When I finally got in I claimed a spot in the upstairs balcony right on the railing which was an absolutely perfect view of everything. At this point 2:15 rolls around (the show was scheduled to start at 1:30AM), and then by 2:30 they finally come on stage. They started off great with a couple older songs and then went into more familiar material. Here’s the set list slightly out of order:

Trucker's Atlas
Breakthrough
Fire It Up
We've Got Everything
Dance Hall
Dashboard
Dramamine
The Whale Song
Wild Pack Of Family Dogs
Little Motel
Satin In A Coffin
Tiny Cities Made of Ashes
Paper Thin Walls
The Good Times Are Killing Me

I was hoping to see a couple more rarities although we did get a lot. One highlight of the night was when Isaac, who was admittedly drunk, during Tiny Cities Made in Ashes was screaming his “And the population’s you!” rant and jumped off the stage into the crowd. He started plowing through the crowd, grabbing people by the shoulders, and shaking the half-dazed hipsters while screaming in their face – it was quite a site from up in the balcony.


There’s definitely something to be said for the atmosphere a tired, bleary eyed, half drunk and stoned crowd creates but it seemed to work at this show. Overall it was a very late night, but definitely an awesome experience and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.