Which came first, the mp3 or the egg? What’s the sound of one band clapping? If a music blog rocks your world, does it make a sound? It does now.
Feedback is C-VILLE Weekly’s new music blog, the authority on Charlottesville music and your backstage pass to music around town—the kind you don’t need to acquire by sleeping with Mötley Crüe. And, following the death of C-VILLE’s news blog, The Spiral—beaten to death by a gang of Chris Daughtry fanatics and kids wielding bloody Hannah Montana albums—Feedback is your official source for local music news, reviews and more. So, without further ado…
Frequently Asked Questions
"What makes you so special?"
I was born with a tattoo that resembles the cover of The Beatles’ Revolver. Next question.
"How should we get acquainted?"
I’ve taken care of it, folks—check out a free mixtape, from me to you, at Feedback’s Muxtape account, then see below for a review of last night’s Modest Mouse concert.
"What’s your favorite song to sing at karaoke?"
A tie: "Surrender," by Cheap Trick, or "Under Pressure."
"What’s your best street performer story?"
I spent a week performing a few blocks away from Harmonica Guy on the Ocean City, Maryland boardwalk.
Want to know more about Feedback? Leave your questions with my secretary (pictured at the bottom of the Modest Mouse review) and I’ll talk more than Kanye West.
Now, onto Modest Mouse’s gig at the Pavilion…
A few years ago, the thought of Modest Mouse selling a million records landed near the top of my "Not In This Lifetime" shortlist—somewhere between "R. Kelly becomes president of MENSA" and the reunion of the Smiths. For more than half of their 15-year career, the band made songs that always approached pop music, then veered straight into oncoming traffic.*
So when Modest Mouse opened its Sunday night set at the Charlottesville Pavilion with all the grace of a Dodge Ram, growling and hissing its way through the indecipherable "Dance Hall," I had the same thought. "Dance Hall" is from the same record as "Float On," the song that essentially made the Mouse a platinum band—but you’d never know it, because singer Isaac Brock sounded like a broken muffler and the band jerked around like it was cruising for a D.W.I. charge. The song is one of the least friendly opening tunes the band could’ve played—a bit like walking onstage and giving a thousand or so people the finger.
Mouse in the house: Modest Mouse barrels through a bruising set of rock at the Pavilion.
But—considering that Modest Mouse has basically done just that for 15 years and are new to this whole "Top o’ the Pops" image—it was incredible to see a packed Pavilion singing along to old Mouse music like the unfortunately named "Doin’ the Cockroach." (Sell a Maxima with that, Nissan!) A few noticeably poppy songs—"Paper Thin Walls" and the apocalyptic dance-off "Dashboard"—came very early in the set, which might’ve been trying on a less patient crowd, but nearly everyone on hand seemed eager to entertain the rodents as they powered through B-sides, D-sides, and the ridiculous burlesque of "The Devil’s Workday."
And, the concert was stellar—not all hits, but a few unexpected surprises, like the cheery realism of "Here it Comes" and the live staple "Satin in a Coffin," easily the most demonic of the Mouse tunes, a banjo-led funeral march. (Listen to it here on the Feedback Muxtape.)I heard my first complaints about the sound quality this morning, but I thought things sounded great. Besides, this is what happens at Modest Mouse shows: You expect the slick sedan, the black Cadillac, and you get an oil fire on wheels, a violent, beautiful mess.**
*Something that Nissan might’ve considered when they made a commercial with the song "Gravity Rides Everything," which uses rotting fruit as a metaphor for death, not luxury minivans.
**Except for Johnny Marr, the former Smiths guitarist that handled string duties all night. Marr kept a solid rhythm and certainly seemed to enjoy himself, but the word that best summarizes his performance is "polite." He kept taking the microphone to thank the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and announced during the encore that the band wanted to "hang around a bit." "This Charming Man," indeed.
