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It was a bit of a throwback Thursday at the Uline Warehouse at Summerfest as Modest Mouse played and partied just as well as they did in the late '90s/2000s heyday.
Making their final U.S. tour stop in Milwaukee before heading off to Europe, the band came out to the distinct guitar melody of “The World at Large," off their 2004 record "Good News For People Who Love Bad News." The song was immediately recognized, with the crowd singing all the “bum bum bums” in unison.
Lead singer Isaac Brock is known for his eccentricity, and before the next song, he stopped to get to know the crowd a little bit more. He eagerly asked a lot of questions about people’s health and started talking to individuals directly.
“Everyone’s fine,” said Brock. “Good sh*t.”
The crowd showed their appreciation for little moments like this, adding to an already fairly intimate festival performance due to its location. The Uline Warehouse stage on the north end of the festival ended up as an excellent and secluded spot for such a visceral, personal experience with the band.
After an electric performance of “We Are Between," the opening riff to “Dramamine” played and the audience immediately sunk into its melodies. This was the only song the band played from their 1996 album “This Is a Long Drive For Someone With Nothing to Think About.” The song is great recorded, but in person, it definitely evoked even more chills and indescribable feelings.
Throughout this all – the entirety of the show – a fan in the front pit held up a blue sign that read, “Play 'Cowboy Dan.'" Eventually, he passed it up to someone at the very center of the front barricade, and when the lights came on in the crowd, Brock acknowledged the sign out loud and nodded. More on this later ...
After that special request, the band played “F*** Your Acid Trip” off their newest album, followed up with some of their most well-known songs including “Paper Thin Walls” and “Dashboard,” which created thrilling energy full of dancing and spilled drinks – all while trippy visuals lit up the background behind the group during certain songs.
The show closed with “I Came As a Rat," and the band said bye and walked out. They weren’t done yet – but it was an abnormally long intermission before the encore. Though it ended up being worth it as they came back out with the song that fans in the crowd requested: "Cowboy Dan."
It felt particularly special for the band to engage and interact with the audience in that way – Milwaukee fans definitely won’t forget that. Musically, "Cowboy Dan" also made an amazing addition to the set, as the song goes all the way back to their 1997 album “The Lonesome Crowded West," bringing on some intense feelings of nostalgia and making the show feel even more like a rounded career retrospective.
Of course, the band followed that up with their biggest hit, “Float On," and finally ended with “Back to the Middle." The audience then sent Modest Mouse off on their way to Europe – though I imagine fans' memories from this night won't go away any time soon.
