Modest Mouse/Band of Horses @ The City Market, 08/03/07

As part of the latest installment of Buzz Under The Stars, a running series of shows at the breezy City Market, 96.5 The Buzz (Kansas City's HOME OF THE ROCK!) hosted a double-bill of Northwestern faves Band of Horses and Modest Mouse. Fighting through sweltering heat and short-lived sobriety, the capacity crowd was treated to four-plus hours of curiously mingled independent rock and Top 40 monster hits.

Opening band Love As Laughter provided a surprisingly tuneful first set, plowing through the staggering humidity with power-trio rhythm & blues. It's no wonder Modest Mouse has chosen to bring them along for another tour after heaving the New Yorkers aboard (har har) for the initial tour in support of the hugely successful We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank.




Mere minutes after Love As Laughter wrapped up their abbreviated opening set, co-headliners Band of Horses took the stage and wowed the multitudes with a well-balanced set of new material and dusty classics (Yes, they played “The Funeral.”). A positively jolly Ben Bridwell, fresh off a charming tour of the West Coast, mesmerized an audience of mostly newcomers with mousy vocals and rugged facial hair. “The Funeral,” certainly a highlight, saw the show hit a new peak in energy – both on the stage and in the overflowing crowd – but the real show-stopper was the closer: Rolling Stones cover “Act Together.” Complete with spastic lights, heavy-fisted drumming, jangly power chords, and a rousing sing-along chorus, it was a moment not to be forgotten by the five-thousand strong in attendance.











By the time Issac Brock finally sauntered to the microphone and lisped a short salutation to the intoxicated faithful, the tone of the show had changed entirely. The two hours that followed were aggressive and entirely relentless, with Brock barking and Johnny Marr scowling through all the hits, much to the delight of everyone who downloaded “Float On” back in 2004. The vaguely hostile atmosphere extended into the crowd, as well, for reasons that were never entirely clear, though this seems to be a trend wherever Modest Mouse plays. However, the sheer scope of the set served as a reminder of the place the band has occupied in popular music over the last decade. It's easy to forget that such an astonishing range of unique and often confounding music has come from a single group of dudes from Issaquah, Washington. (Note: the quality of the following photos attests to the "energy" that could be felt in the crowd.)







[photos and review by Zach Noland]