The term “stadium rock” has certainly transformed over time. Once endearing in the era of larger-than-life acts from Led Zeppelin to Mötley Crüe, the term’s been relegated to refer to today’s bands that have gone bland, corporate, or cater to the lowest common denominator (i.e. “King of Leon were good until they went all stadium rock with that new album").
While it always seemed like Kings of Leon were shooting for the rafters, it’s hard to imagine a nascent Modest Mouse or Brand New having any arena-sized dreams of grandeur. These were two bands that it just kind of happened to; at almost exactly the same time, Modest Mouse stumbled into American Idol-level fame with “Float On” from 2004’s Good News For People Who Love Bad News, while Brand New scaled new rock radio heights with “The Quiet Things That No One Ever Knows” and “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades" off Deja Entendu.
A dozen or so years later, following some generally solid but dwindling-in-number releases, these same two bands have joined forces to embark on a 2016 co-headlining summer tour — which graced Tampa’s swampy, still-annoying-to-say MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheare on Saturday night.
Shit, if no one can make money on albums these days, why not cash in on the nostalgia train with a slew of massive shows like these? Hollywood had the idea, and all the biggies are certainly following suit.
But neither band looked like they were phoning it in for a paycheck on Saturday night. Apparently switching headlining spots each night (and opting for no opening acts), Brand New started the show at 7:10 p.m. on the dot. It was weird — this mad dash of tight-panted, regrettably-tattooed millennials (self very much included) rushing to their seats with hopes of singing along to verses they once scrawled in their Livejournals, actual journals, MySpace pages and school bathroom stalls more than a decade ago.
What followed wasn’t what I expected, but kind of better, in hindsight. Brand New could’ve easily catered to their base, playing all the overemotional, heartbroken hits you still belt out when you’re buzzed, nostalgic and anywhere near a laptop with Spotify. Instead, they immediately set the tone with “Sink,” a manic blend of subtle verses and ear-beating-ly epic choruses from their last proper album, 2009’s Daisy. The rest of the set followed suit – BN fully embracing their stadium rock stature with a pummeling onslaught of dual drummers; a range of pitch-perfect screams and subtly-spoken scrutiny from the mouth of Jesse Lacy; plus some deliciously distorted riff-age from Lacy and lead guitarist, Vincent Accardi — who easily took the belt for the “Most Fun to Watch Onstage” title that night.
And, it wasn’t all a big “fuck you” to the old fans, either. Deja Entendu tracks like “Sic Transit Gloria…Glory Fades” and “I Believe You, But My Tommy Gun Don’t” made their way in there alongside “I Will Play my Game Beneath the Spin Light” and a weird spin on “Tatou” at the end. But, for the most part, Brand New took a chance, laying into their last two albums, Daisy and The Devil and God Are Raging Inside Me, and it paid off in droves.
Following what felt like almost an hour between sets, Modest Mouse took the stage. Joined by a range of rotating instrumentalists — from players on coronet to mellophone, violin, trumpet, baritone, and an extra drummer as well — Isaac Brock kicked it off with the knee-slapping banjo-laden vibes of “The Devil’s Workday.” Like many o’ great artists, mental stability has understandably never been Brock’s strong suit, but goddamn does it make for one entertaining show. On record, his voice is straight up maniacal. Live, it’s even more unhinged — “Bury Me With It” was laser-precise, but doused in Brock’s tweaked-out vocals, it was just something else.
Modest Mouse dug deep into their discography, culling the bulk of songs from Good News For People Who Love Bad News and its follow-up We Were Dead Before The Ship Even Sank, but also weaving in a few choice cuts like “Paper Thin Walls” from The Moon and Antarctica and “Night on the Sun” from its eponymous EP.
The thing is, while Modest Mouse was fun to watch, their set list was challenging, to say the least, especially after the energy Brand New brought to the stage. Otherwise decent tracks like “Satellite Skin,” “Night on the Sun” and “King Rat” just slammed the brakes on any momentum built by more upbeat numbers.
And, even when they picked up the pace with tracks like “Float On” (of course) and “Lampshades on Fire,” the whole band just sounded like the musical equivalent to a melted box of crayons — a soupy mess of sonic elements in a venue that just made it all the more noticeable. At one point in the show, my friend turned to me and said something along the lines of “they would be great in a small club, but out here, it’s rough.”
So how can you fault them? The intent was there, the execution was good, but the set was just generally underwhelming.
Some bands aren’t built for the stadium, and that’s OK. Others just stumble into it like and manage to make it surprisingly great. Either way, you’re going to see what you want to see, hear what you want to hear, and move on. That’s entertainment.
This article appears in Jul 7-14, 2016.