I saw Modest Mouse last night at Hard Rock Live. I really like that venue, and I really like Modest Mouse, but this show left something to be desired. I don’t fancy myself a music snob or audio engineer, but the sound quality was not that great. The mix sounded muddled – Modest Mouse plays a lot of instruments (they’ve even got two drummers), but everything sounded just mashed together. It was difficult to even hear the vocals on most songs, they were so far back in the mix. And there was rampant feedback, not just in between songs but even during some of them.

I chalked it up to either the venue or someone having a bad day at the mixer, but then I read this review of a Seattle show last year. It’s basically the same thing. And if you read the comments, people say the same thing about shows in other cities.

As much as I enjoy listening to Modest Mouse, I think this will be the last live show of theirs I attend. And if they’re traveling to your town, save your money and stay home.