We Were Dead Before the Gig Was Even Over

ST LUKE'S: We do this thing at work called Netmog. Basically you click through hundreds of pages of text reconstituted from websites. It is always tedious and, after a point, it becomes useless from a bonus perspective. So in an effort to save my eyes and my sanity, I thought I'd give you my thoughts on Modest Mouse at the Royal Albert Hall last night.

As one of the last of my favourite bands I've never seen I couldn't help but have high expectations. Ever since I discovered Good News For People Who Love Bad News I've been intrigued by singer Isaac Brock's singing style and in particular the yelps and howls that punctuate the record.

However, as is often the case with high expectations, I finished the gig slightly disappointed. The Royal Albert Hall is a stunning venue, huge ceiling, four balconies and all the trappings of a venue that regularly hosts Her Majesty. Unfortunately it wasn't a venue best suited to rock n roll. When we bought our first round of drinks the bartender asked "Is it interval yet?" I'm yet to hear of any rock show that included an interval. Then we weren't allowed to carry beer onto the floor and there weren't enough people to hide amongst and enjoy a sneaky cigarette.

As for the actual performance, parts of it were very good, even virtuosic. It's always fun to see a band with two drummers and Brock even plucked his guitar with his teeth. Johnny Marr, formerly of The Smiths, made a good side show and some of the songs were superb. However the sound was terrible and on some of my favourite songs, including "Float On", parts of the melody ended up buried beneath bass and crumbling guitars. And the singing was much less than I expected. He was able to replicate some of the sounds of the album but others are either the result of extensive computer work of simply selected from 50+ takes.

But, I got to visit the Royal Albert Hall, the show was far from terrible and I bought a bootleg Modest Mouse t-shirt from some bloke outside the gig for only £10.