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Modest Mouse Setlist
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Remember, if you missed Rock the Garden this year, you can tune into 89.3 The Current on Tuesday, June 30 and Wednesday, July 1 to hear the rebroadcasts in its entirety.
You'll find our recap for day two below. For more photos, head over to Photos: Rock the Garden (21 June 2015).
Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger
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Apparently the band was not used to playing short 30-minute set, and at the minus-five minute mark warning, the band had to cut their set short by dropping off ‘Devil You Know’ and choosing instead to close out their set with their Syd Barett cover song ‘Long Gone’. The latter song had Charlotte Kemp Muhl switch over to keys.
The song was a hit with the cheering crowd ... and as the band left the stage, Lennon promised that they will be back soon. One thing was for sure, since we last saw him (at 7th Street Entry in 2014, as Sean Lennon in 2006, and as bassist in Chibo Matto in 1999) that he’s grown so much as a talented musician. Can’t wait for GOASTT to come back, now that psychedelic rock is more popular than ever!
JD McPherson
JD McPherson
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“This is a pretty good thing you guys got going on here”, McPherson said, taking off his jacket to reveal a ‘Smith Fabrication’ t-shirt in bold letters.
Fans twisted and shouted in the midday heat to ‘Fire Bug’, the new album’s title track, and ‘North Side Gal’; the latter dedicated to us “Norlanders” and sounding direct from a ’50’s diner jukebox, before the band ended with a nearly ten-minute “Wolf Teeth” to crowd howling.
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80
Seun Kuti and Egypt 80
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Bandleader emeritus Baba Ani spent the first several minutes introducing each member and preaching the spirit of togetherness before the band launched into its set. Kuti emerged to take the lead a song in, for ‘Opposite People’, a Fela composition, and proceeded to infectiously shimmy and shake for the next hour; like being chased by a swarm of bees, or like his clothing was on fire.
Shekere (a dried gourd with beads) player Okon Iyamba looked like the band’s smiling, ever-relaxed Keith Richards, in a smooth hat and shades. Bassist Kunle Justice kept things grounded and funky, while the full horn section added additional danceability to songs from their latest, last year’s A Long Way to the Beginning (Knitting Factory Records).
Prior to playing their last song, Kuti took a minute to talk about Tetrahydrocannabinol (or commonly referred to as THC) found in marijuana. He said as he ‘astral-traveled’, that he discovered the real meaning of those letters: ‘The higher consciousness’.
Babes in Toyland
Babes in Toyland
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Despite what Wikipedia said, the Babes last show was in November 2000, so it's been 15 years since they were seen together, and 18 years without the original bassist.
As for the band, even with the shaky start, they sounded fantastic live. Kat Bjelland's vocals never sounded better, despite all the years of banshee screaming.
It's good to finally get Babes back in Minneapolis, where they belong. The band announced late May that they will be doing their first North American tour in 20 years, kicking it all off at St Louis in Missouri on August 27th and ending at Pop Montreal International on September 19th. More details can be found on news.weheartmusic.com.
Modest Mouse
Modest Mouse
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Both mysteries were revealed (no, not rusty, and too tight sheets, apparently) and Modest Mouse played a crowd-pleasing 70 min. set to the faithful that had been waiting these many years to see them again live.
Starting with 2004’s ‘World at Large’ , the band’s truncated festival set played most of their radio favorites and selections from the new album, with the exception of ‘04’s ‘Ocean Breathes Salty’. Single ‘Lampshades on Fire’, played early on, got people moving, ‘Dramamine’ reached back to their 1996 debut, and ‘Float On’ appropriately had balloons being bopped around over audience members’ heads.
Encore ‘The Good Times are Killing Me’, from Good News for People Who Love Bad News, seemed appropriate from the somewhat awkward Brock and crew, playing to a still-excited but weather-beaten crowd, that had been under the sun for six hours.
NOTE: Thanks to Andrea at the Current for providing much of the set lists.
Modest Mouse at Rock the Garden, Minneapolis (21 June 2015) |
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