As the autumnal weather commandeered the future weather reports, a chilly ocean breeze swept through the crowd waiting patiently for Modest Mouse to play the final show of the infamous Stone Pony’s outdoor “Summerstage”. Only a block from Asbury Park’s beach, hundreds came out and filled in the venue’s standing room–only space as the opening band Tropical Fuck Storm took the stage. Vendors dished out sausage and peppers on a fresh rolls as well as cold beers to the awaiting crowd.

Just after 8 p.m., Modest Mouse took the stage to play one elongated set and returned to play a lengthy encore of five songs. The lineup had undergone many changes through the years, and the stage was packed with many multi-instrumentalists including founding member Isaac Brock on lead vocals, guitars, and banjo; Jeremiah Green on drums and percussion; Tom Peloso on upright bass, horns, keyboards, bass, and fiddle; Jim Fairchild on guitars, pump organ, banjo, and ukulele; Russell Higbee on bass guitar and pump organ; Lisa Molinaro on viola, bass, and keyboards; Ben Massarella on percussive effects; and Davey Brozowski on keyboard and percussion. Nearly all musicians on stage contributed toward the unique vocal blend, with Isaac Brock and Lisa Molinaro standing out vocally. Brock presented his witty lyrics in his casual, non-traditional vocal style, which kept the audience mesmerized.

To open the long first set, Isaac led the band through “3rd Planet” from The Moon & Antartica, which featured isolated guitar riffs picking up steam into a percussive breakdown. The rare “Night on the Sun” from 2001’s Everywhere and His Nasty Parlour Tricks preceded “Sugar Boats” from their most recent release Strangers to Ourselves. Building off the momentum, Modest Mouse dusted off their first single from We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank with “Dashboard” before returning to their latest album with an electrifying cut of “The Tortoise and the Tourist” with distortion, reverb effects, and quick-spitted lyrics.

The tempo cooled off for a nasty version of “Grey Ice Water” from the band’s 2000 album, Building Nothing Out of Something, which stood out with its extended, jammed-out, and psychedelic closing riff. Isaac Brock traded his guitar for a banjo for “Satin in a Coffin” from Good News for People Who Love Bad News and “King Rat” from No One’s First and You’re Next. Modest Mouse remained on the same album for the following bass-heavy groove of “Whale Song”. A solid performance of “Float On” came next, which was the track that broke them through to commercial success and garnered time on radio stations across the globe. Returning to Building Nothing out of Something, the band aced the slow and ponderous track “Broke” before finishing the set with “Ocean Breathes Salty”, another single from Good News for People Who Love Bad News.

“Float On”

[Video: javier alvizar]

“Broke”

[Video: Kyle54106]

A lengthy encore consisting of five songs ended the night as well as the season for the Stone Pony’s Summerstage. Beginning with tracks from their latest album Strangers to Ourselves, Modest Mouse played “Shit in Your Cut” and “Pups to Dust”. Returning to The Moon & Antartica (taken from the newspaper headline in the opening scene of Blade Runner), Modest Mouse danced through a frantic “Paper Thin Walls” before touching upon a brutally honest “The Good Times are Killing Me”. To end the entire evening, Modest Mouse destroyed an explosive version of the rarely played “Shit Luck”, also the only track from Lonesome, Crowded West played.

Encore

[Video: rdeal1999]

With that performance, the outside stage began to be dissembled until the warm weather rolls in for 2019. Modest Mouse plays shows at Sands Bethlehem Event Center in Bethlehem, PA, tonight followed by a show at the Palace Theater in Albany, NY, on Sunday. To see the full tour, head to the group’s website here.

Setlist: Modest Mouse | Stone Pony Summerstage | Asbury Park, NJ | 10/13/2018

Set: 3rd Planet, Night on the Sun, Sugar Boats, Dashboard, The Tortoise and the Tourist, Grey Ice Water, Satin in a Coffin, King Rat, The Whale Song, Float On, Broke, Ocean Breathes Salty

Encore: Shit in Your Cut, Pups to Dust, Paper Thin Walls, The Good Times Are Killing Me, Shit Luck