Modest Mouse - live at the ABC in Glasgow

I approach music on a personal level. I associate different music with different times in my life and different people. I also mentally link bands with other bands that I feel are similar. Modest Mouse are sometimes a bit difficult to catagorise. They are angular and funny-shaped and they don't always fit in.

The first guy that told me about Modest Mouse was a bit of a prick. He told me that they sounded a bit like Fugazi (which is good) and that I would like them. However, the guy was so much of a prick that I couldn't listen to the band. They always seemed a bit like a 'too cool for school' band with no real substance. This was around 1996-1998. I soon forgot about them.

Then when I was living in the midlands I picked up the 'Good news for people who like bad news' CD for £5 in Fopp and I was instantly hooked. The band had transformed and had attained a more interesting sound. The lyrics were great. 'Bukowski' is one of my favourite songs.

The Johnny Marr out of the Smiths joined.

Which was weird.

So I got tickets and I went to see them tonight. I was a bit sceptical because I have a live CD of theirs which is not great. In Glasgow they had a six piece band with two drummers (which is normally a good sign). Johnny Marr proved that he can play guitar. Accordians and trumpets were brandished. Isaac Brock shouted a lot and played a banjo.

The set was good and contained a lot of my favourite songs including Bukowski, Float on and Do the Cockroach. The one gripe that I have about the show was the sound. We were in a great position, standing right behind the mixing desk on the balcony in the ABC. We had an excellent view and the sound should be perfect as we were standing next to the sound engineer. Sadly, I do not think that the engineer had ever listened to a Modest Mouse album and the mix was all over the shop. Johnny Marrs guitar was too loud and key trumpet and accordian parts were inaudible which was a bit of a bastard but in general it was agood show.

fnk