Modest Mouse rolled through Atlanta on Sunday playing the Tabernacle behind their seventh album, The Golden Casket, released in 2021. Like many concerts these days, this one is a story of rescheduled shows that finally ended up well worth the wait.
Atlanta actually already got a taste of the band’s latest album alongside the hits back in October on the final day of Shaky Knees 2021. Of course, Shaky Knees usually takes place in late April/early May, but due to the pandemic they had the festival in October and it went off without a hitch. While the festival set was fantastic, when Modest Mouse announced they were returning in late April 2022 (just before SK22), and they were playing a headlining set at the Tabernacle, you knew this was a must attend show, even if we did just see the band. I mean there really isn’t a much better place in the world to see a truly great show than the Tabernacle in downtown Atlanta, a former church with immaculate sound. Sadly, just before that April show was set to start, lead singer Isaac Brock got sick and tested positive for COVID, cancelling the show for a disappointed house.
Luckily Brock recovered nicely and tour continued in short order with a rescheduled Atlanta date for Sunday, September 11th. Isaac and the band made sure the wait was well worth it.
Alongside Modest Mouse, the crowd at the Tabernacle was also treated to UK indie rock band The Cribs opening the show like they were originally scheduled for in April. The three-piece band kicked things off with a blazing early set that had the crowd revved up for Modest Mouse.
For Modest Mouse, their set was straight fire from start to finish. Throughout their 22 song set, Atlanta got half of the 2021 album The Golden Casket, with particular live highlights on “Fuck Your Acid Trip”, “We Are Between” and “Never Fuck a Spider on the Fly”. Of course that meant plenty of old school favorites also from the band that first formed back in the early nineties, including plenty from the beloved 2004 album Good News for People Who Love Bad News that first brought the band to mainstream success.
Highlights from Modest Mouse’s evening in Atlanta included but aren’t limited to “The World At Large”, “Bukowski”, “Trailer Trash” (which ended the initial set before the encore), “Dashboard”, “Satellite Skin”, “Blame It On The Tetons” and the closer for the night “Spitting Venom”.
Of course, they also played “Float On” which took their initial set to the pinnacle a few songs before the band’s break before the encore. The crowd was fired up from the top of the Tabernacle down to the chaos on the floor. There was dancing, hugging and general euphoria all over. I knew this was a great show I was witnessing when we got “Float On” that early. It only continued as Modest Mouse’s encore consisted of 5 songs as the band played past the 11:30pm mark on a Sunday night.
There wasn’t a single person bitching about the late ending, instead basking in one of those real “special” Tabernacle shows that you won’t soon forget. If you’ve seen many shows at the Atlanta venue, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It’s church in the form of music; on this night Modest Mouse was doing the preaching, and it seemed the band loved being on that stage just as much as the crowd. Hallelujah it is.
While the Atlanta show was the last on this tour, the band has already announced a tour for later this year. Modest Mouse announced they’ll celebrate the 25th anniversary of their sophomore album, The Lonesome Crowded West, with a tour across North America this fall, marking the first time the band will perform the album in it’s entirety. Check out Modest Mouse’s upcoming tour dates below.
Check out photos below from Modest Mouse and The Cribs performing at Tabernacle Atlanta in Atlanta, GA on Sunday, September 11th, all photos by Mike Gerry:
THE CRIBS
MODEST MOUSE
MODEST MOUSE ONLINE:
WEBSITE // BANDCAMP // FACEBOOK // INSTAGRAM // TWITTER
UPCOMING MODEST MOUSE TOUR DATES:
The Lonesome Crowded West Tour:
11/18/22 – Missoula, MT – Wilma Theater
11/19/22 – Spokane, WA – Knitting Factory Spokane
11/21/22 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
11/22/22 – Seattle, WA – The Showbox
11/25/22 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom
11/27/22 – Vancouver, BC – Commodore Ballroom
11/30/22 – Oakland, CA – The Fox Theatre
12/1/22 – Los Angeles, CA – The Wiltern
12/2/22 – San Diego, CA – The Observatory North Park
12/3/22 – Phoenix, AZ – The Van Buren
12/5/22 – Austin, TX – ACL Live at The Moody Theater
12/6/22 – New Orleans, LA – Fillmore New Orleans
12/7/22 – Dallas, TX – South Side Ballroom
12/9/22 – Chicago, IL – Riviera Theatre
12/10/22 – St. Paul, MN – Palace Theatre
12/11/22 – Madison, WI – The Sylvee
12/13/22 – Washington, D.C. – 9:30 Club
12/15/22 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore Philadelphia
12/16/22 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
12/17/22 – New York, NY – Terminal 5
