It’s hard to know who to blame—the band or the fans. But someone needs to answer for Built to Spill not playing “Car” on a night of supposed fan favorites. The seminal indie rock heartbreaker is the No. 2 BTS song on iTunes, ferchrissakes. Bummer. Doug Martsch and crew drew heavily from recent albums (half the run-time coming from the last two). I shouldn’t be too surprised. These Pitchfork kids are, well, kids after all. Half the crowd were embryos when “Nowhere Nothing Fuckup” came out. (So don’t get your hopes up for the Lips knocking out “Frogs,” record geeks.) When one of only two songs from 1994’s There’s Nothing Wrong with Love made the set, “Big Dipper,” the thirtysomethings in the crowd perked up to the sloppy, boppy pop sound of BTS’s pre–Warner Bros. era.
Photo: Martha Williams
Obviously, it’s a different band fifteen years on, one which has gelled into a twee-jam beast from Boise. Three hirsute guitarists stoically flanked the front of the stage, looking like Dennis Wilson and a couple Ice Road Truckers. Scott Plouf pinned the swirling, soaring six-strings down with mechanical drumming. Shortly before the gig, as David Yow was dripping and spitting at the tail end of the Jesus Lizard assault, Plouf hunched behind his set warming up with a set of rudiments on a drum pad, cigarette dangling from his lips. It’s hard to imagine the band’s Rockie Mountain psych working without him.
Photo: Martha Williams
The sweet, pretty “Else” and the clever, nostalgic classic rock response “You Were Wrong” were highlights. But, no “The Plan,” no “Distopian Dream Girl,” no “I Would Hurt A Fly,” no “Joyride.” Frankly, I would have been much happier seeing the band reprise the “Don’t Look Back” Perfect From Now On tour from last year, despite Built to Spill’s ability to turn any corner of their catalog into massive, quirky, dreamy, yearning stoner epics. At one point, a kid in the crowd begged, “Play something from your new album!” The band mentioned it’s out in October, maybe, before asking fans to write Warner Bros. and beg for it’s release. Martsch countered, “No, don’t do that.” The band has fanatics. They totally would petition the record label. Which is why as they headed for their cars, I couldn’t help but imagine all that was likely on their minds was the gaping absence in the set.
Built to Spill played:
“Liar,” “Stab,” “Strange,” “You Were Right,” “Kicked It in the Sun,” “Conventional Thinking,” “Else,” “Big Dipper,” “In Your Mind,” “Virginia Reel Around the Fountain,” “Goin’ Against Your Mind” and “Carry the Zero.”
The song is called “You Were Right”, not “You Were Wrong”. Also, it was Brett Netson who made the comment, not Jim Roth.
My bad. Blame blogging late at night and having to watch bands’ backs this year at the festival.
You Were Right Brent, Roth made the comment. I’m amazed at all the new stuff too, while not disappointed, was surprised. If anyone listened to ‘Temporarily Blind’ and ‘In Your Mind’ back to back, there is no way the latter would get votes.
“Car” was on the setlist right before “Carry the Zero”. Not sure why it was cut. Here’s a picture: http://www.flickr.com/photos/musicforants/3732542882/in/set-72157621496709947/
Ha, I give up. It’s bad enough that there’s Brett Netson and Brett Nelson. Add beards and poor views… Look, a dude in the band said that. Ha.
So weird that they cut Car off that set list, Taylor. Right around that spot in the set I noticed the band check the clock on stage. I could have sworn Doug leaned back and mouthed “Car?” to Plouf. Perhaps he said, “Goin’?” Who knows.
I would have killed to hear “Twin Falls Idaho,” too. Or “Randy Describes Eternity.” Or “The Plan.” Still, the band sounded great. It’s just the weird empty promise of the festival’s Friday conceit that made the night a little disappointing in regards to YLT and BTS. These bands just have a ton of songs people want to hear.
A band like BTS has so many great songs, it’s impossible to please everyone unless they played the entire body of their work in one concert. The songs they picked are of course, amazing, and the fact that BTS can create an entire setlist and still not even touch the surface of their immense repertoire of great songs, shows just how great of a band Built to Spill really is.
Yeah, Car was on the setlist but I’m guessing they cut it due to the sound curfew.
Netson is the only guy in the band that has a mic besides Doug. So it would have to have been him. I have never seen BTS put on a bad performance, and this show was no exception.