BY APRIL S. ENGRAM

Modest Mouse put on an amazing live show—as expected—full of deafening guitars and drums, crowd surfing, Johnny Marr groupies and of course Isaac Brock. The Portland sextet decided to grace Rochester’s Main Street Armory and the large, smoky, hot venue was packed. Waiting impatiently for Modest Mouse to pick up their instruments were screaming, smoking, slightly inebriated prepubescent teenagers; trippy, moshing young adults; interpretive painters; and, reserved, upstanding citizens like me and my mother. Needless to say, a diverse crowd.

This show may not have been one of the “biggins” for those in Rochester, as this stop did not include The National and REM; yet, no one was disappointed as Modest Mouse performed a solid show that lasted over 2 hours. Brooklyn’s Love is Laughter was the opener and did a sufficient job getting the crowd warmed up for the main event; however, one look at the solemn faces made it apparent who everyone wanted to see. After a 40 minute wait the eager audience chanted “Modest Mouse” and stomped their feet in unison until the lights dimmed and all six members slowly ascended to the stage.

From the first chord stuck, Modest Mouse sounded great — and damned loud! With two drummers/percussionists (Jeremiah Green and Joe Plummer), two guitarists (Isaac Brock and Johnny Marr), bass (Eric Judy) and a multi instrumentalist who effortlessly switched from upright bass to violin to keyboards (Tom Peloso), it’s no wonder they create such beautiful noise. The set included a mixture of tracks both old and new, from their debut This is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About to their latest release We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank.

Besides having a knack for picking great, elaborate titles for their albums, Modest Mouse has also built a reputation for putting on powerhouse live shows. The guys wasted no time leaping into the songs and practically every voice in the audience joined Brock as he shouted, lisped and muttered his lyrics. Though tracks from Good News like “Float On” and “Ocean Breathes Salty” did not make the cut (songs that reached the masses in 2004 and caused the current Mouse craze), the band had five albums to scroll through to create their set list and each song performed was a crowd favorite.

The guys didn’t chat up the crowd too often aside from the occasional “How are you doing, Rochester,” or “Here’s an old song for you.” But that was more than enough; the reaction from the audience spoke for itself. Someone in the crowd lifted their crutches in celebration, others lit their cigarette lighters as many crowd surfed to the pit in front of the stage. Additionally, two teenagers standing to the left of the stage not far from Johnny Marr continued to shout the former Smith’s guitarist’s name, to which he politely smiled, nodded and waved his guitar in their direction. That acknowledgment made them jump and yell in joy. However, that was not enough for one girl as she saw her opportunity when the three security guards patrolling that section of the stage blockade all turned their backs to her. She climbed over the bars, sprinted up the steps, ran over to Marr who had a curious look on his face as the girl politely lifted her arms asking him for a hug, he smiled and again nodded, she embraced Marr, and ran back down the steps before security could even touch her. It was fun to watch the confused faces of the guards as they looked at each other as if to say, “How’d she get past you?” Thank goodness she didn’t have a pair of scissors and wanted a lock of hair.

But the night was far from over, as the trippy moshers — though one may not call it a “mosh” so much as mushroom loving individuals simply prancing and swaying in circles together — rocked out to the music. Modest Mouse shelled out a two hour, non-stop performance before finally bidding the crowd farewell and leaving the stage. The exhausted, sweaty band exited the rear of the venue for a breather, but of course the audience wanted more and cheered the band’s name for several minutes before Brock and crew returned. The four song encore included a song new to my ears, “Little Motel,” “Tiny City Made of Ashes,” and personal favorite “Bury Me With It.” During the latter the entire audience roared when they heard the familiar riff and then shouted along in glee, “Life handed us a paycheck and we said ‘we worked harder than this,’ please bury me with it!” It made this nine-to-fiver’s heart tingle in delight to shout along with them.

[Photos by April S. Engram]