It has been awhile since I last watched a gig from the seating area (balcony). As much as possible, I try to get standing tickets since the experience is so much better albeit the sometimes restricted view. It is so much better to dance to a band than to sit down and be still.

Sadly, the moment I noticed Modest Mouse was going to be in town, it was already too late and all standing tickets were sold-out. The same with Level 1 seats and I had to settle for Level 2 seats. It was on a Monday which is my day off so I went for it.

By the way, there is yet another level to the seats.

A few weeks later, they announced another gig at the Electric Ballroom. I didn’t bother since I needed to be a bit more careful with my spending and it also falls on a Tuesday, a working day, which means booking the day off.

Back to the gig. When I got in, I did have to climb quite a few flights of stairs to get to my seat. It was quite high up but gave you a very clear view of the whole stage which was pretty cool. You can easily see everyone on stage without the need of moving your head from side to side.

Frightened Rabbit was support for the evening. In most cases, support bands are just thrown in with another band regardless of the type of music they play. Rarely are they in the same genre as the headlining band. In this case, Frightened Rabbit complimented Modest Mouse quite a lot and they set up the evening for an excellent evening. They were quite incredible and much fun to watch.

To quote one of their songs, Keep Yourself Warm, “It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm.” How can you not like them? A definite addition to my playlist.

Now for Modest Mouse. First of, I had no idea how many they were in the band and seeing everyone up on stage made them quite the crowd. The number of instruments they use was even more. Despite Isaac mentioning he had a throat infection, he still did an excellent job on the vocals.

It was real fun watching all the members on the stage from where I was sitting. The most enjoyable part was watching the two drummers play in unison.

They played a mix of songs mostly from their 3 latest albums with a few songs from the old ones thrown in for good measure. Below is the complete setlist as posted by Simon_FM and JosephRoys on the Last.fm Event’s page.

• King Rat
• Dashboard
• Dramamine
• Bury We With It
• Bukowski
• Missed The Boat
• Fire It Up
• Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes
• Here It Comes
• The View
• 3rd Planet
• We’ve Got Everything
• Gravity Rides Everything
• Parting Of The Sensory
• Paper Thin Walls
• Custom Concern (encore)
• Satin In A Coffin (encore)
• Dance Hall (encore)
• The Whale Song (encore)

I have only been listening to Modest Mouse since 2003 (I think) and due to this, I am more familiar with their newer stuff and enjoyed this setlist very much.

I was a little disappointed when they didn’t play Float On, but a part of me was glad they didn’t cave in despite most people in the crowd chanting it.

They capped off the night with The Whale Song instead which was quite epic and made the lack of Float On very much worth it.

It was another brilliant gig at Shepherd’s Bush Empire from a different viewpoint. Another surprise support band which has already been added to my playlist.

Last December 7, 2009, I had the chance to watch Asobi Seksu again. This time it was at Cargo in Shoreditch, London.

I noticed this gig online at the last minute and was glad there were still tickets for it as I have never been to Cargo in the past and it is always good to watch a band in a new place.

There was another gig happening on the same date for The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart at The Garage, Islington. If I hadn’t seen this band in this same venue back in August, I would have purchased tickets for this instead. Sometimes it is good to wait until the very last minute.

Anyway, Cargo is a nice little venue underneath a rail bridge. Unlike other venues, it has a restaurant and a bar separate from the room where the stage is. It is a nice cozy place to meet up friends (if I had any) for a few pints and some food.

There were no queues which was a welcome change in England and since I arrived early, I had a pint and relaxed on the their comfy seats. With the previous Asobi Seksu gig at ICA, I lost out of the shirt design I wanted. They had the same design here but only in women’s shirts so I bought a different shirt instead.Airship, from Manchester, was support for the evening. They were a pretty decent and interesting band. Their EP is available on Spotify if you want to have a listen. It is pretty good.

Asobi Seksu played a familiar set as to the ICA gig back in February, give or take a few songs. I have listened to the new album quite a bit since then and have come to appreciate and love it quite a lot.

• Sing Tomorrow’s Praise
• New Years
• Strawberries
• Meh No Mae
• In The Sky
• Thursday
• Layers
• Pink Cloud Tracing Paper
• Transparence
• Red Sea
• Strings (encore)
• Me & Mary (encore)

It’s a good mix from Citrus and Hush but still nothing from their self-titled first album.Thursday is still my favourite song of theirs and any gig with it is good enough for me.

All in all, it was a better gig than ICA mainly cause it was a smaller venue with less people. For once, I was at a gig standing right in front of the stage. Stadium events are an experience but nothing beats smaller intimate gigs.