I got the call at 2:00 that afternoon. My friend called and said that we got the tickets to Modest Mouse, the first of their two-night gig at the John Anson Amphitheatre. The hours between are a blur and irrelevant. We caught our ride and fought traffic to arrive. The amphitheatre was a piece of amazing architecture nestled away in hills and woods. After relaxing outside and a couple bottles of wine, my ears caught the sounds of the opening band. Being an avid listener of the Black Heart Procession myself, I rushed in and grabbed one of the few random seats left in the back. I ‘m not sure if that first song was something I knew or not. The chatter of the backseat crowd drowned them out. The song finished and they informed us their piano was broken, which would exclude some of their best songs for the night. They the started in with an instrumental, which preceded “That Old Kind of Summer”, and the crowd chattered on. With the ability to only hear a few random lyrics and broke chords I sit back and waited. A sad thing when a good band gets no respect. After a blind of an eye set they were done. We went to our smokes outside and random conversation. Then as we saw the crowd move back in so did we. We fought our way to the sides where people stood. They were set up and ready to go. The crowd exploded and there they were. Though louder than Black Heart, they still needed more volume, which they continuously pleaded for to no avail. After a set of tracks off their newest album, Moon Meets Antarctica, they pulled out some old favorites, Dramamine, being one. They played flawless as the crowd sang along, flowing and nodding with every rhythm and beat. They did their best with what the forum had given them. Then just like that it was over. After informing us to hold onto our ticket stubs for a free show at later dates (because it definitely wasn’t worth the money) they left the stage. Not even allowed an encore. We flooded amidst half smiles and grumbles. In conclusion, a good show yet not the best, which the latter I will credit to the restrictions of the forum. Thank goodness there is still the small venue.