News flash-it's hot in St. Louis in July. I guess Isaac Brock from Modest Mouse didn't get the memo before coming into town. He walked onto stage with khaki corduroys and a long-sleeved flannel shirt, and while rolling up his sleeves he made little effort to hide his huffs and puffs as he bitched about the heat. I'm certain I wasn't the only person in the joint that wanted to haggle him about whether or not the dude owns a pair of shorts all while reminding him that he was playing in front of a sold-out crowd.  

Let me just say that I truly love Modest Mouse (have since '97s The Lonesome Crowded West) and have been to every show in St. Louis that they've put on in the past six years or so. They had me and the rest of the crowd bouncing a lot of the time and with sure bets like “Bukowski,” “Tiny Cities Made of Ash” and “The View,” that one-of-a-kind, blissful vibe that 3Modest Mouse conjures was going strong for a good part of the show.  It's safe to say that they won back the audience's attention during the encore when they seamlessly jammed out delightful, heartfelt and unrushed renditions of “Gravity Rides Everything” and “Float On.” Other favorites the band revisited include “Black Cadillacs,” “The Good Times Are Killing Me,” “Fire It Up,” “Bury Me With It,” and the catchy “Paper Thin Walls.”

Modest Mouse's music is addictive. No one (anywhere) sounds like them. You can't really even safely categorize them into any certain genre, which is a big part of the appeal. They maneuver effortlessly from punk to pop to their own version of jazz back to punk-all the while holding tight that unmistakably playful yet morbid, world-questioning tone. I can't remember a time in my life where I have seen a band more than three years in a row with no new album. Granted, Modest Mouse has a significant repertoire to pull from. At this point, though the repertoire is teetering on coat tails with music this good and fans so loyal and worthy, I'm hoping to see new music from them sometime soon. It would be a shame to see them a fourth year in a row with no new album. If that's the case though, c'est la vie, since my fate as a Modest Mouse fan has been sealed. See you guys at the next show. | Joanna Kleine