Modest Mouse Live at MGM Music Hall
Design by Charlotte Heintz
By Emeline Chopin
This past Wednesday, October 15, Modest Mouse performed at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway, joined by support from the band Built to Spill. The show marked their tenth performance on their Fall 2025 tour, celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of their celebrated album The Moon & Antarctica. On a cool autumn evening in Boston, thousands of eager fans gathered to witness the revival of nineties indie rock onstage.
Starting the night off was Built to Spill, an indie rock band formed in Boise, Idaho in 1992. The group is known for their catchy lyrics, distinctive vocals, and intricate guitar work, and they did not disappoint with their performance. Lead vocalist and founding member Doug Martsch, accompanied by bassist Melanie Radford and drummer Teresa Esguerra, put on a captivating show. Radford in particular provided an entertaining performance, dancing around the left side of the stage as she jammed out on her bass guitar. The band’s careful blend of indie and classic rock elements combined with complex guitar solos proved to be the perfect introduction for the headlining act. For those who recall the 1997 shows where Modest Mouse opened for Built to Spill, the performance order was a curious and engaging reversal.
Shortly after Built to Spill’s energizing opening act, Modest Mouse took the stage and, following an uproar of applause, broke out into “3rd Planet,” the opening track on The Moon & Antarctica. The album, released in 2000 under Epic Records, was performed in its entirety during this concert. The dynamic shifts, raw vocals, and fluid guitar riffs presented in their opening song set the tone for the remainder of their performance that evening. Dancing bodies in the general admission section energetically shouted the lyrics in unison with the singer.
Modest Mouse breezed through the remainder of the album coolly and collectedly, rarely ever pausing. When frontman Issac Brock did take a moment to rest from singing, he made sure to express his heartfelt gratitude to the audience, noting the album’s importance to both himself and his bandmates. Brock’s address added a sense of intimacy to the ambiance of the concert, making the experience feel even more personal for the entire audience.
As they moved masterfully through The Moon & Antarctica, Modest Mouse filled the room with the atmospheric melodies of their music. As the group’s percussion duo, Ben Massarella and Damon Cox played in sync, they contributed a powerful and uniquely layered sound, adding a complex sense of texture and depth beneath Brock’s iconic vocals to every track on the album.
After finishing their fifteen-song setlist, the members of Modest Mouse briefly left the stage before returning for an exciting five-song encore. Even though the first portion of their performance had lasted nearly two hours, the band’s loyal fans hadn’t lost any of their energy or enthusiasm. Modest Mouse treated their audience to tracks from three of their other albums, as well as an unreleased song called “Dogbed/Sheetrock.” The prospect of new music from a band that was so legendary in the 1990s indie rock scene was thrilling, eliciting a spirited response from the crowd.
Modest Mouse created a cosmic and surreal atmosphere at their concert, inviting the audience to partake in a powerful and introspective auditory experience. When combined with Built to Spill’s incredible opening act, the immersive experience of their performance at MGM Music Hall at Fenway plunged the audience back into the peak of the alternative indie rock scene.