michigandaily.com/arts A R T S MONDAY AUGUST 9, 2004 Li LOLLAPALOOZA ORPHANS FIND HOMES MODEST MOUSE AND THE WALKMEN VISIT DETROIT By Andrew M. Gaerig Daily Arts Editor When Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell birthed the original Lolla- palooza in 1991, he imagined it as a rol- licking freak show of a tour, trampling each city with a Modest troupe of eclectic Mouse acts (Fishbone, Vio- Monday, Aug. 2 lent Femmes, Rollins Band). Indeed, Lol- At the Royal Oak lapalooza is still con- sidered to be the father of the "lifestyle" package tours that now dominate the summer circuit: Lilith Far, Warped Tour and Ozzfest have all grown from Lolla- palooza's ambitious roots. As the years The wore on, however, Farrell lost interest Walkmen in the festival, and it Wednesday, was eventually taken Aug. 4 over by testosterone At the Blind Pig goons and bland "alternative" acts. It was less a lifestyle than a cash cow, and a poor one at that. Which is why this year was set to be so different: Farrell was inspired again, and he'd reached rather heartily into the indie underground to pull together the most impressive group of artists the tour had ever seen. Legends like The Pixies, Morrissey and Sonic Youth were the main draws, but more impressive were Farrell's invitations to younger acts: Bro- ken Social Scene, Danger Mouse, TV On the Radio, and Ann Arbor's Wolf Eyes were just a few of the groups scheduled. Despite the undeniably strong lineup, rumors cir- culated, and early last month, the tour was cancelled due to poor ticket sales. Apparently the indie under- ground is lazy, poor or simply under the impres- sion that they could buy tickets at the door. Never- theless, the tour folded, leaving MM's Eric Judy crosn many of indie hazy line between 'A rock's favorite sons searching for work this summer. Modest Mouse and The Walkmen were two such groups. Modest Mouse, hot on the heels of their wildly success- ful (and profitable) new album, Good News for People Who Like Bad News, had taken the road less traveled: their career started nearly a decade ago, as unheralded, druggy Northwestern teens playing songs about long car rides. Four albums and a million tours later, they're on top of the indie world. The Walkmen followed nearly the opposite career path. They hit the underground scene like a bolt, riding a wave of Strokes-y New York hype and a car commercial jingle ("We've Been Had"). Since then, they've maintained a lower profile, dropping the criminally underrated Bows andArrows earlier this year. In the past week, both of the Lollapalooza orphans hit the Detroit/Ann Arbor area. Modest Mouse arrived with the pres- ence of a much larger band: Both of their shows at the Royal Oak Music Theatre sold out well in advance. And judging from the line outside the door, the kids were coming out in droves: The success of newly-minted modern rock staple "Float On" brought out a much younger audience than the band has drawn in the past. In fact, the crowd was so underage that the night had "My First Indie Rock Show" written all over it. Modest Mouse took the stage to the tune of "The View," one of the least- exciting numbers off of Good News. To their credit, the band reached fairly deeply into their past, running through favorites like "Neverending Math Equa- tion" and "Cowboy Dan." And while these numbers drew a surprisingly uproarious reaction from the crowd, the focus was clearly on the new material. "Float On" was as buoyant and shout- worthy as expect- ed, and the chirping banjo of "Bukowski" and searing guitar lines of "Ocean Breathes Salty" were also faithful- ly delivered. Throughout the show, the band were the consum- mate profession- als, which was somewhat of a shock, given their uneven perform- ance history. The band was "well rested" according to frontman Isaac Brock, and the FOREST CASEY/Diy songs were ses the increasingly rehearsed and alkman and Mouse driven. Despite this, the band still couldn't overcome its chronically poor set list choices. "Doin' the Cockroach" may be a fan favorite and a decent live song, but it's hardly the band's brightest moment. "3rd Planet" and "Wild Pack of Family Dogs" represented the excel- Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock shows off his newfound weight. lent The Moon and Antarctica, but that album's dark, spacey compositions were left otherwise uncovered. These may be the obvious nitpickings of a longtime fan, but one couldn't help notice that Modest Mouse didn't seem themselves on stage, despite a strong performance: They seemed sober, happy, and content with their newfound indie god status. The good times, it appears, aren't so bad after all. The Walkmen are in nearly the oppo- site place in their careers: The steam of an overrated debut having worn off, they've found the live response to their gorgeous, sprawling second record, Bows and Arrows to be less than warm. Despite critical praise for the album, the band drew poorly in the spring when they visited Detroit's Magic Stick. This time through they visited the cozier con- fines of Ann Arbor's Blind Pig. The band obviously didn't let the smaller venue bother them. They were noticeably more lively and cohesive this time out, instilling their reverb-laden art- rock with a sense of urgency and pas- sion. Rollicking numbers such as "The Rat" and "Wake Up" absolutely explod- ed into the crowd, with frontman Hamil- ton Leithauser almost bursting at the seams as he laid his cat-scratch howl into the microphone. "Little House of Savages" burst off the stage with an organ riff harsh enough to scrape the enamel off teeth, and a chorus sweet enough to rot what's left. Even slower numbers, such as the surprisingly warm "What's In It For Me," sounded better than they did months ago, the band The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser reacts to "The Manchurian Candidate." instilling them with the same guarded optimism that makes their records so captivating. It's unclear how MM's stadium-sized angst or The Walkmen's dreamer cacophony would've translated to the festival stages of Lollapalooza. It's likely that MM would've stolen the show with their undeniably smart, scrappy rock, and the The Walkmen's show would've lost the intimacy The Blind Pig lent it. This past week, however, fans got to look at two bands whose current place in the indie rock pantheon couldn't be much different. Both are excellent bands, and no one should begrudge MM's newfound success: They've earned every moment of it. In different clubs on different nights, however, it became clear that although Modest Mouse has the attention of indie rock's increasingly numerous-ears, The Walk- men are clinging on to its heart. Yes, we know that fellow Lolla orphan Sonic Youth also played in Detroit this week. Andrew Gaerig is but one man. Check michigandaily.com for additional pictures of Modest Mouse and The Walkmen.