Built to Spill @ Warehouse Live

Critically acclaimed indie-pop/rockers Built to Spill dropped by Warehouse Live on Monday, March 3rd, and BOTheads Cereal and Eggs were present to witness the action.

Read the full show review after the jump

Eggs and I arrived at Warehouse Live near the beginning of Built to Spill's set and were instantly entranced. Eggs hadn't previously heard much of Built to Spill's work, and although I own (and love) Ancient Melodies of the Future and Keep It Like a Secret, I'd never gotten the chance to catch the band live. Our status as BTS fans was quickly established, solidifying sometime during their cover of Brian Eno's "Third Uncle":

The setlist included songs from the group's early years ("In The Morning" and "Distopian Dream Girl" from 1994's There's Nothing Wrong With Love), as well as from their most recent album ("Traces", "Gone", "Mess With Time", and "Goin' Against Your Mind" from 2006's You In Reverse). The show was rounded out by tunes from albums in between, including "Time Trap", "You Were Right", and "Carry the Zero" (1999's Keep It Like a Secret), as well as "Stop the Show" and "Velvet Waltz" from 1997's Perfect From Now On. BTS also played two unreleased songs, "Oh Yeah" and "Canada". Hopefully we'll hear both of those tracks on a future album.

The sound in the Warehouse Ballroom was exceptionally good that night, better than any show there in recent memory. BTS sounded phenomenal, and their consistent (yet never over-the-top) energy catapulted this show to a high ranking on my mental list of best first-time experiences with bands. Dancing, head-bobbing, jumping, and arm-thrashing were in full effect all around; two beers were even sent flying during "Goin' Against Your Mind", but nobody seemed to care much. Check out the airborne beverages at about 5:47 and 6:23:

I'd known that Built to Spill have been cited as an influence by a number of bands on today's indie-rock circuit, but I was still a little startled at how apparent that ancestry is during their live show. The voice of Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard seems to have directly descended from BTS frontman Doug Martsch, and it's clear that BTS's overall sound and stylings have strongly influenced Modest Mouse.

The band's backdrop during the show was a large screen displaying a slideshow of artwork by Portland, Oregon-based artist Mike Scheer. Scheer has created album covers for Built to Spill, and he also collaborated with Doug Martsch during his years with his 1988-1994 band Treepeople. The drawings were a little odd, but I thought they fit well with the show.

After ending their set with fan favorite "Carry the Zero", Built to Spill returned to the stage for an encore version of "Velvet Waltz". The song extended into a 20-minute jam, and they were joined by two members of the Meat Puppets, boosting the already fierce onstage guitar count of 3 to an ear-blistering 5. I've read elsewhere that other attendees weren't thrilled with this ending, but Eggs and I both found it spellbindingly intense.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the show and will definitely be catching them again the next time we have an opportunity. Maybe the folks at Wakarusa will read my mind and add them to this year's lineup - I think they'd be a great fit.

Built to Spill are currently touring; check out tour dates and learn more information at their official website.

Built to Spill - You Were Right

Cereal's rating: 8.7892836/10 Rice Krispies. Enough snap, crackle, and pop to go around.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to catch either the Meat Puppets or Helvetia, the two opening acts. If you did and you have something to say about them, feel free to leave a comment.

Carpe ientaculum.

--Cereal