By: Jim Brunzell III
Sometimes the best part of any tour is just to get back home to see family and friends. (Or at least I’ve heard.) Imagine playing a sold-out show on your last tour date in your hometown. With your good friends and family present, no less.
Motion City Soundtrack got spoiled with an early Christmas gift from their Twin Cities audience. Along with family and friends, young hipsters packed the floor and 21+ veterans upstairs emptied bottles left and right, all of whom had left their cozy homes and trekked through the frigid cold to watch the Motion City Soundtrack play to a sold-out hometown crowd at the recently re-opened First Avenue.
Motion City Soundtrack has often been compared to 90’s indie rockers The Get Up kids, though founding member Joshua Cain dismisses those comparisons by saying, “The only reason that we are ever similar to [them] is the fact that we are both super-influenced by Superchunk.” Other bands that may come to mind upon first listen are Animal Chin, Feeder and of course, Green Day.
As lead singer and guitarist, Justin Pierre walked out onto the dimly lit stage with his distinct spiked hair and wearing his Moses Malone-like goggle glasses, the crowd cheered as he began singing “Back to the Beat.” Shortly after Pierre’s appearance, the rest of M.C.S. ran up the stage steps and took their spots. Opening with a song not from their recent album I Am The Movie, seemed to be a risky move. Fans had waited outside in freezing temperatures before the doors opened. Once inside, they stood around shoulder to shoulder for close to three hours on the lower level, as they listened to four opening bands (including Tsunami Bomb, The Limbeck Band, and The Academy) before finally getting to hear a M.C.S. song, a song virtually no one in the audience knew. I thought this might be a mistake. (“Back to the Beat” was released as a 5-song EP in 2000; then it was re-released on a split EP with Schatzi in fall, 2002. M.C.S. newest LP titled, Commit This to Memory will be released, June 7th, 2005 on Epitaph Records.) To my surprise, the audience cheered louder, and the applause went well into their next song, “Perfect Teeth.”
Their third song of the evening “Boombox Generation” was a highlight of the evening, especially watching moog player Jesse Johnson, do some spectacular aerodynamic leaps into the air straddling himself over his keyboard during the song. Usually, I don’t give into such circus like antics on stage but part of me wanted to see him do a face plant on stage, while the other part of me, wanted him to keep doing it. Daring himself, further and further as his head leaned closer to the front of the stage, his body had become something of a headless bungee jumper tied to the ceiling of 1st Avenue, all the while his hands kept pounding on his keyboard.
Other noteworthy songs included “Red Dress,” “Shiver,” The Future Freaks Me Out,” and “My Favorite Accident.” During most of their set, Pierre and Johnson smiled and/or laughed with glee, in between guitar or keyboard breaks in the songs. The crowd returned the favor as they jumped up and down while listening and watching M.C.S. play for over an hour.
Motion City Soundtrack’s performance was nothing short of stellar. Going through most of their three or four minute rock songs with ease, the fans seemed to be getting more and more excited by each coming song. Playing the majority of its sixteen song set with no breaks in between songs, M.C.S. seemed like they could have played all night. The energy that came from Joshua Cain/guitarist, Tony Thaxton/drummer, and Matthew Taylor/bass guitar, along with Johnson and Pierre (whose hair, at the end of the show, could have been classified as a health hazard) demonstrated that this hometown band should be seen in concert immediately while they’re still playing smaller venues. At the rate they’ll soon be opening for Green Day at the Target Center.
Location Info:
First Avenue
Artist Info: Motion City Soundtrack
Share this story:
Article comments powered by Disqus