Modest Mouse and Gogol Bordello at Breese Stevens Field, Madison, WI, 9/30/17
Gogol Bordello, from really far away I went back to the venue Ryan Adams played Friday night to see Modest Mouse last night. I've seen Modest Mouse a handful of times, and I have generally thought their performance can be kind of uneven. Once, they played Norman and they were stumble-drunk and belligerent. Once, they played Sasquatch Fest and I thought it was one of the most incredible shows I've ever seen. I'm glad I went, but I think we got both worlds last night. I confess I missed the first act. Gogol Bordello played second. I had seen them a festival once, and what stuck in my mind about that performance was how absolutely on their frontman is. He didn't disappoint this time, either. The band comes across as incredibly engaged, intentionally quirky, and borderline manic. The frontman is singing, slinging his acoustic guitar around on his back, and waving a bottle of red wine so enthusiastically it's spraying everywhere when it's not being drunk by var...