Ok, I am back from my mini-trip to see Modest Mouse & I gotta get this all down so I don't forget it!
FARGO, ND
Left Mpls around 1:30? Got up to Fargo & met up with my buddies Strand & Laura at Strands parents place. His parents dropped us off for dinner at Ground Round, & then Steve & Laurie met up with us. They had Teas on sale, & we all (except Steve) had about 4. So kinda drunk.
We got to the show about 2/3 through Camper Van Beethoven's set. I didn't really know anything about CBV going into this trip, & didn't really see them enough that night to form an opinion. The Venue (Playmaker's Pavilion) was ok. It was VERY HOT & CROWDED (the show was sold out). The acoustics were terrible. You could hear the echo coming off the back wall & it kinda made their sound muddled. I didn't realize that the show was sold out, but that's cool. After the typical set up between sets MMouse came on to a decent reception. I thought they played a great set. When I last saw them (February), I thought they sounded really sloppy. Missed lines, long set up times between songs, & etc. Thought everything had tightened up & sounded fantastic. They played mostly stuff off "Good News", with some older songs thrown in as well (Interstate 8, Dramamine, Custom Concern). I was really impressed by their set, & was excited for the next shows.
After the show, we stayed at the venue & drank at the bar next door. Steve bummed me a couple of smokes, & one he threw directly into my mouth from across the table! I doubt he could have done that again if we had given him a whole carton. We ended up leaving at around 12:30 & heading to Strand's parents place to crash.
SIOUX FALLS, SD
Left Fargo at around 11:30, after an awesome breakfast (quiche & eggs benedict) made by Strand's mom. Got to Sioux Falls at around 3? Checked into the hotel & went to check out the venue (Ramkota Exhibit Hall, it's attached to the hotel). MMouse was going through sound check at the time, so I hung out for a bit & just kinda watched. After that, I got some food at the hotel bar/restaurant. I ended up meeting some people at the bar that were pretty cool. We talked about music & MMouse & other shows & stuff. They invited me to a party after the show, but I needed to get back to Mpls the next day, so I declined.
As I left my hotel room to head to the show, Dan Gallucci (guitarist) and a roadie (I think his name is Tony, but I'm not sure) walked right by me. So, I followed them, & they ended up going to the bar. They ordered drinks, & I grabbed the waitress & said that I was gonna pick up their tab (there were others at the table, but I wasn't sure who they were & I didn't want to go over & bug them, but, I did get a couple of nods of appreciation, which was cool (also, this helped me at one of the Mpls shows, but more on that later)). I got to the show at around 7 & saw all of CVB's set & was very impressed. I suppose I was about 15 ft from the stage, & was able to get some cools pics. The only thing I couldn't figure out is why they played such a long set (over an hour). From most of the shows I've been too, the opener(s) get 30-45 minutes tops. It just seemed weird (and WAS weird, which wasn't made apparent till later).
After CVB's set, it got VERY crowded & hot near the stage. LOTS of pushing & people being stupid, but you get that at every show no matter what. It seemed to be taking FOREVER between sets, and it was! The reason is that Issac Brock hadn't showed up yet! So, instead of making us just sit there, Eric Judy & one of the touring guys (he plays the upright bass, Trumpet, Violin, & sings, but I can't remember his name!) came out & did some songs from their side project (Sweet Tooth? Sweet Teeth? I can't remember). Got some ok pics. It was all fiddle & a strange flute, but was better than just standing there & waiting. The crowd started to get restless & crabby, & I was right up front. I decided that since I had such good seats for the Mpls shows that I'd worm outta the front so I didn't have to worry about the shit that happens in pits.
So, the band comes out & starts jamming, but still no Issac. They're playing for about 5-10 min, & still no Issac! I'm like "Shit, this is gonna get ugly", but right then, Issac came out & they broke into "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes". Show that night was also very very good. Very tight & enjoyable. What I remember the most is them only playing half of "Paper Thin Walls", realizing that they only played half, saying they only played half, & then picking up & doing the second half of the song. Also, a scorching version of "Cowboy Dan" (which was great, cuz then the jackasses standing next to me stopped yelling for them to play it), and ending the show with "White Trash". Thought it was a better show than the one in Fargo. Liked the song selection a bit more & the venue was a bit better (even though the sound still echoed off the back wall).
After the show, went to the bar, had a couple drinks, & then went back to my room & crashed.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
SHOW ONE
Got back to Mpls at around 2:30 on Friday, & got my shit together for that nights show. I was super excited, as the show was at The Orpheum (actually seats!), & my tix for that night were in the orchestra pit, row 2, DEAD CENTER! I was just ecstatic to have such fantastic seats. My sis & I got there just as CVB was starting their set. I got more & more impressed with them with each show I saw. Before, I just knew them as the guy from Cracker's "other band", but after seeing them 4 times, I definitely give them their props.
So, after a very quick change over, MMouse came on to huge applause. The show was fantastic & I got some really good pics. I was really just blown away, but they are my favs, so I can't really be objective here! Favs from that night were "One Chance", "The View", "World at Large", & "Custom Concern". Before I realized it, the show was over! They ended up playing roughly an hour & a half.
As they were taking down the equipment, I yelled to the roadie (Tony?) that I had "bought him a drink the night before", and he looks at me & goes "That was you?", & then he turned & grabbed Eric's setlist & gave it to me! Then, he said "and, AND..." and reached & got me one of Dan's guitar pics! I'm a huge nerd, but I was so excited! I thanked him profusely, & then backed off to take a look at the actual list. It showed as: Dramamine, Black Cadillacs, The View, Doin the Cockroach, Satin in a Coffin, Bukowski, Good Times, Float On, World at Large, Third Planet, Tiny Cities, One Chance, Paper Thin Walls. ENCORE: Custom Concern, Oceans. This wasn't 100% correct, though, as they actually did Tiny Cities last before the encore.
SHOW TWO
Tix for the second show were in Row A, dead center. Not as good as the previous night, but still fantastic. Plus, we didn't have to deal with people jumping the railing separating the main floor & the pit like we did on the previous night.
Caught all of CVB's set, & was again impressed. Very tight & fun. Played a couple of songs that I hadn't heard on previous nights, but don't know the names or anything.
After another quick change, MMouse came on & again frickin rocked. They played a very different set from the previous night. More older stuff for sure. Standouts were "Never-ending Math Equation", "Break Through" (which I don't know if I have ever heard live), & "Interstate 8". For the encore, they played "World at Large", & something happened to the keyboard that Issac was playing. They had to kinda pry up the top to get it to work or something. Dunno what happened for sure.
Guh, this is crazy long & I know I missed some stuff. I'm gonna go & work on the pics I took & then reread this & add where I forgot stuff. I don't regret one minute of my trip & hope I get the chance to do something like this again!
FARGO, ND
Left Mpls around 1:30? Got up to Fargo & met up with my buddies Strand & Laura at Strands parents place. His parents dropped us off for dinner at Ground Round, & then Steve & Laurie met up with us. They had Teas on sale, & we all (except Steve) had about 4. So kinda drunk.
We got to the show about 2/3 through Camper Van Beethoven's set. I didn't really know anything about CBV going into this trip, & didn't really see them enough that night to form an opinion. The Venue (Playmaker's Pavilion) was ok. It was VERY HOT & CROWDED (the show was sold out). The acoustics were terrible. You could hear the echo coming off the back wall & it kinda made their sound muddled. I didn't realize that the show was sold out, but that's cool. After the typical set up between sets MMouse came on to a decent reception. I thought they played a great set. When I last saw them (February), I thought they sounded really sloppy. Missed lines, long set up times between songs, & etc. Thought everything had tightened up & sounded fantastic. They played mostly stuff off "Good News", with some older songs thrown in as well (Interstate 8, Dramamine, Custom Concern). I was really impressed by their set, & was excited for the next shows.
After the show, we stayed at the venue & drank at the bar next door. Steve bummed me a couple of smokes, & one he threw directly into my mouth from across the table! I doubt he could have done that again if we had given him a whole carton. We ended up leaving at around 12:30 & heading to Strand's parents place to crash.
SIOUX FALLS, SD
Left Fargo at around 11:30, after an awesome breakfast (quiche & eggs benedict) made by Strand's mom. Got to Sioux Falls at around 3? Checked into the hotel & went to check out the venue (Ramkota Exhibit Hall, it's attached to the hotel). MMouse was going through sound check at the time, so I hung out for a bit & just kinda watched. After that, I got some food at the hotel bar/restaurant. I ended up meeting some people at the bar that were pretty cool. We talked about music & MMouse & other shows & stuff. They invited me to a party after the show, but I needed to get back to Mpls the next day, so I declined.
As I left my hotel room to head to the show, Dan Gallucci (guitarist) and a roadie (I think his name is Tony, but I'm not sure) walked right by me. So, I followed them, & they ended up going to the bar. They ordered drinks, & I grabbed the waitress & said that I was gonna pick up their tab (there were others at the table, but I wasn't sure who they were & I didn't want to go over & bug them, but, I did get a couple of nods of appreciation, which was cool (also, this helped me at one of the Mpls shows, but more on that later)). I got to the show at around 7 & saw all of CVB's set & was very impressed. I suppose I was about 15 ft from the stage, & was able to get some cools pics. The only thing I couldn't figure out is why they played such a long set (over an hour). From most of the shows I've been too, the opener(s) get 30-45 minutes tops. It just seemed weird (and WAS weird, which wasn't made apparent till later).
After CVB's set, it got VERY crowded & hot near the stage. LOTS of pushing & people being stupid, but you get that at every show no matter what. It seemed to be taking FOREVER between sets, and it was! The reason is that Issac Brock hadn't showed up yet! So, instead of making us just sit there, Eric Judy & one of the touring guys (he plays the upright bass, Trumpet, Violin, & sings, but I can't remember his name!) came out & did some songs from their side project (Sweet Tooth? Sweet Teeth? I can't remember). Got some ok pics. It was all fiddle & a strange flute, but was better than just standing there & waiting. The crowd started to get restless & crabby, & I was right up front. I decided that since I had such good seats for the Mpls shows that I'd worm outta the front so I didn't have to worry about the shit that happens in pits.
So, the band comes out & starts jamming, but still no Issac. They're playing for about 5-10 min, & still no Issac! I'm like "Shit, this is gonna get ugly", but right then, Issac came out & they broke into "Tiny Cities Made of Ashes". Show that night was also very very good. Very tight & enjoyable. What I remember the most is them only playing half of "Paper Thin Walls", realizing that they only played half, saying they only played half, & then picking up & doing the second half of the song. Also, a scorching version of "Cowboy Dan" (which was great, cuz then the jackasses standing next to me stopped yelling for them to play it), and ending the show with "White Trash". Thought it was a better show than the one in Fargo. Liked the song selection a bit more & the venue was a bit better (even though the sound still echoed off the back wall).
After the show, went to the bar, had a couple drinks, & then went back to my room & crashed.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN
SHOW ONE
Got back to Mpls at around 2:30 on Friday, & got my shit together for that nights show. I was super excited, as the show was at The Orpheum (actually seats!), & my tix for that night were in the orchestra pit, row 2, DEAD CENTER! I was just ecstatic to have such fantastic seats. My sis & I got there just as CVB was starting their set. I got more & more impressed with them with each show I saw. Before, I just knew them as the guy from Cracker's "other band", but after seeing them 4 times, I definitely give them their props.
So, after a very quick change over, MMouse came on to huge applause. The show was fantastic & I got some really good pics. I was really just blown away, but they are my favs, so I can't really be objective here! Favs from that night were "One Chance", "The View", "World at Large", & "Custom Concern". Before I realized it, the show was over! They ended up playing roughly an hour & a half.
As they were taking down the equipment, I yelled to the roadie (Tony?) that I had "bought him a drink the night before", and he looks at me & goes "That was you?", & then he turned & grabbed Eric's setlist & gave it to me! Then, he said "and, AND..." and reached & got me one of Dan's guitar pics! I'm a huge nerd, but I was so excited! I thanked him profusely, & then backed off to take a look at the actual list. It showed as: Dramamine, Black Cadillacs, The View, Doin the Cockroach, Satin in a Coffin, Bukowski, Good Times, Float On, World at Large, Third Planet, Tiny Cities, One Chance, Paper Thin Walls. ENCORE: Custom Concern, Oceans. This wasn't 100% correct, though, as they actually did Tiny Cities last before the encore.
SHOW TWO
Tix for the second show were in Row A, dead center. Not as good as the previous night, but still fantastic. Plus, we didn't have to deal with people jumping the railing separating the main floor & the pit like we did on the previous night.
Caught all of CVB's set, & was again impressed. Very tight & fun. Played a couple of songs that I hadn't heard on previous nights, but don't know the names or anything.
After another quick change, MMouse came on & again frickin rocked. They played a very different set from the previous night. More older stuff for sure. Standouts were "Never-ending Math Equation", "Break Through" (which I don't know if I have ever heard live), & "Interstate 8". For the encore, they played "World at Large", & something happened to the keyboard that Issac was playing. They had to kinda pry up the top to get it to work or something. Dunno what happened for sure.
Guh, this is crazy long & I know I missed some stuff. I'm gonna go & work on the pics I took & then reread this & add where I forgot stuff. I don't regret one minute of my trip & hope I get the chance to do something like this again!