The mouse is still unassuming and the music is still great.
The Troxy is an odd venue: part conference hall on the inside, part faded bowling alley on the outside. Plus it also seems like the kind of venue Elvis might have played. But I'm not here to offer conspiracy stories on the king of rock 'n' roll; I have a vaguely important job to do: reviewing Modest Mouse.
I've never been a die-hard Modest Mouse fan – I have a couple of albums and the odd single but it rarely matters here: the band have a great live presence. Brilliant musicianship is expected at a gig such as this but it's also the attitude and the presence that make a good live concert. Having two drummers seemed a bit odd: yes, it beefs up the sound to a certain degree, but it's hardly utilised to make it absolutely necessary. Drummers are notoriously prone to going missing though, so maybe it's just a safety policy.
They make a low key start but get things going with the fantastic 'Dashboard' which jiggles along nicely, followed by the haunting 'Satin In A Coffin' which combines country banjo lines with morbid chanting. The set draws on songs from throughout their career, often with a bit of jamming which never seems self-indulgent – mainly because they are bloody good at it. Recent track 'The Whale Song' from their latest EP sounds fantastic live, and proves that Modest Mouse are still one of the most innovative and enthralling indie bands around.
If there is a downside, it's that lead singer Issac Brook's lyrics have always been one of the key features of the band for me, and it's hard to make them out in the live performance. Although the sight of him barking manically is welcome enough. They finish off with a cracking encore, even though they do make us wait rather long for it. Both the lyrically divine 'Bukowski' and the dirty funk of 'The View' get an airing, which gets the whole audience doing that weird knee bending dance you end up doing at gigs. Modest Mouse provide a set therefore that's not only full of the hits but also allows their experimental nature to be expressed. Elvis would be proud.
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