by weasey » Thu May 31, 2007 1:00 pm
I went to see Modest Mouse in Manchester on Tuesday night. I went with my friend Sarah who is obsessed with them. They played a fanstastic show, the way they interpret the songs on stage is really impressive, two drummers on separate kits, key boards, trumpets, an accordian...Isaac and Johnny, resulting in a rich sound which really brings them to life. They played at the Ritz which is where the Smiths played on of their first gigs almost 25 years ago, making it more momentous for me. It's an excellent venue, quite small with a balcony and a sprung dance floor, which, when the capacity crowd got going, felt like a wooden trampoline. Isaac appeared to have been on the receiving end of something quite violent, possibly a right hook, because a black, piratesque eye patch struggled to cover a very nasty looking black eye. His voice was also very impressive and intense, although he was quite quiet between songs, but Johnny was happy to fill in the gaps. He seemed quite chuffed at the enthusiatic response of a Manchunian crowd, stopping at one point to see if he recognised anybody. He pointed to a couple of people, and to one of them said 'you owe me money!' He thanked Manchester several times for giving them such a great time. It was just great to see Johnny play, he oozes coolness and looks great, effortlessly stylish in personalised trainers (made for him by the manufacturer!)
After the gig my friend wanted to wait for Isaac to come out so I stayed with her, thinking I might meet Johnny. The Ritz backs on to a canal (...ahh Manchester!) so the front door was the only exit. After about 45 minutes Johnny came out before the rest of the band, by himself and carrying a guitar case, I approached him and he said hello and I asked him to sign my ticket, which he graciously did, asking my name so he could make it out to me specifically. He asked what I thought of the show ('it was brilliant) and said he was suprised by the great response they got as he didn't realise Modest Mouse were so popular in England. My friend hastened to add that she'd been a fan for years. I wasn't sure what to say to him so I just thanked him and shook his hand (which, like the rest of him, was tiny, I half expected him to have six fingers...just five like the rest of us) . He was really friendly and pleased to talk to people, he also seemed quite happy, probably on a high from the blinding show he'd just played. He stayed for a few moments and then thanked everyone for waiting for him, before jumping in a car and driving off. It was quite surreal, because he seemed so natural and cool when I was talking to him it wasn't until he sped off that the significance off what happened struck me...'That was Johnny Marr!!!'
I'm still in awe of what happened and feel very lucky to have met him, I urge everyone to go and see him play, just to appreciate a guitar hero.
Weasey.
(I have some photos which I'll post later)
Last edited by
weasey on Fri Jun 01, 2007 9:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"EDUCATION IN REVERSE"