Modest Mouse & The Meaning of Life | Live Review | May 15 2014 | The Beacham Orlando

by Mitch Foster • May 16, 2014

Last night was the third time I’ve seen Modest Mouse and it was definitely the best. (If you’re going to see them tonight, at the bottom of this post there is A Guide To Modest Mouse, night 2 at The Beacham.) Throughout their hour and a half set, Isaac Brock belted out songs from almost every LP and EP over their 20-year career. They even played songs off their 1996 debut LP This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About.

I’m still mentally gawking at the fact that Modest Mouse played The Beacham last night. They played “3rd Planet,” “Dark Center Of The Universe,” “Paper Thin Walls,” “Dashboard,” “Bukowski,” “Fire It Up,” and a whole lot of other great songs that I could list in succession. For some reason Stella Artois tastes better when Modest Mouse is playing in the background. Shit, anything would taste fucking awesome if Modest Mouse was the soundtrack to your drunk, right?

The openers, Morning Teleportation, were a band signed to Isaac Brock’s label, Glacial Pace. I didn’t make it in time to catch them but I heard good things about their psychedelic rock. I arrived just as Modest Mouse began their set and I headed upstairs. “This is my favorite fucking band.” The guy next to me said after a few songs. I was not surprised. Isaac began singing “We were shootin’ at a mound of dirt…” I chimed in “Well nothing was broken, nothin’ was hurt.”

I learned that Modest Mouse doesn’t follow a nightly format. After looking at their setlists, it became clear to me that each evening is unique. Every night is something different; a gift. A gift for our ears that they graciously brought to Orlando. Here’s shitty pic:

I had the privilege of seeing another great, Conor Oberst at the same place the night before. Seeing Conor Wednesday, then Modest Mouse Thursday, then Bastille tonight (Friday), is the culmination of the best fucking three days ever.

It’s been over 6 years since Modest Mouse released their last full length album which had hits like “Dashboard” and “We’ve Got Everything” on it. Six fucking years! And they still sold out both dates at The Beacham in less than an hour. I thought it would have been fitting for them to play “Florida.” But as I listened with my tongue in my cheek, they didn’t deliver – maybe they’ll play it tonight. They did play “Dashboard” however! I caught a bit of it on the Shows I Go To Instagram. Check it out below:

Before the show, a friend recited a joke from the movie Training Day over a beer at Lizzy’s across the street. It’s actually not a joke though. It’s some serious fucking business. He said “if you figure this out, you’ll figure out the meaning of life.” I still have no fucking clue. Check out this story:

“One day this man walks out of his house to go to work. He sees this snail on his porch. So he picks it up and chucks it over his roof, into the back yard. Snail bounces off a rock, cracks its shell all to shit, and lands in the grass. Snail lies there dying. But it doesn’t die. It eats some grass. Slowly heals. Grows a new shell. And after a while it can crawl again.

One day the snail up and heads back to the front of the house. Finally, after a year, the little guy crawls back on the porch. Right then, the man walks out to go to work and sees this snail again. So he says to it, ‘What the fuck’s your problem?’”

Stop and think about it. What does that mean to you? To me, it means a few things. Most importantly: Do not take ANYTHING personally. Not a compliment. Not a takedown attempt. Not a thing. I’ve been reading a book called The Four Agreements. In it, it describes how everything is an agreement, these are words on a webpage and the word “webpage” is an agreement that you’ve made with yourself identifying the meaning of that word. It breaks down everything and offers a new light to rebuild on. Check that shit out.

The other thing the joke means to me is that no one owes you a thing. Just because the snail made it all the way back from near-death to crawl across that porch again, did not mean anything to the man. Or did it?

If you’ve ever seen Modest Mouse (or if you’re seeing them tonight) you are a lucky son-of-a-bitch. This is band that other bands look up to; that other bands are inspired by. That people are inspired by. Yeah, a lot of their lyrics are painfully eye opening and semi-depressing but the way they move through their songs and the emphasis they put on certain words and phrases make them truly special. They’re not fucking around. You could say Modest Mouse has “everything down to a science.” Here’s another shitty pic:

I made it downstairs to meet up with some friends before their encore. The room was packed. People were dancing everywhere. We all had our individual circles of bliss. As decibel levels peaked from the roar of the audience, Modest Mouse came back out to play a few more songs.

They ended their encore with “Spitting Venom” off their last album We were dead before the ship even sank. I listened to the horns over the simple guitar notes and drum patterns during the bridge. I sang and danced next to one of my best friends and with my gorgeous girlfriend and it was absolutely perfect for that moment. “Let it all drop” as you listen to “Spitting Venom” below:

After the show, I walked across the street to get a delicious Vegan Dog at the Vegan Hot Dog Cart. I highly recommend the “Ultimate Warrior Dog.” Not only is it dedicated to one of the greatest professional wrestlers that ever lived, but it is the greatest vegan dog that ever lived in my belly. Get it as a Cajun Dog if you like spiciness in your mouth-hole.

If you’re going to Modest Mouse tonight, here’s your guide:

Isaac Brock took stage left (if you’re looking at the stage that would be on your right). If you want to be close to him, go to that side.
There are a ton of Instagram pictures of Isaac and his band with fans after the show. They were drinking beer and hanging out behind The Social/Beacham. If you are a super fan or just want to shake his hand, go back there after their set.
Buy a poster – it has a cassette player on it that says “Orlando.” I’m sure it’s super limited and it looked like it was screen printed. Maybe you can get it signed after the show 🙂

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