When people ask me who my favorite bands are, Modest Mouse normally is a staple in the list I rabidly rattle off. A Tribe Called Quest and Iron and Wine also have real estate on the list. I have liked them since their quazi-punk days, and have always felt like Isaac Brock and myself are some how related. His lyrics intriguingly analyze the coincidences and irony we encounter in life, everywhere we turn. Take "Good News for People Who Love Bad News," "Classy Plastic Lumber" and "Satin in a Coffin" for example. There's something refreshing about spotlighting how ludicrous people act sometimes, and celebrating indifference and laziness. "I'm gonna look out the window of my color t.v., I'm gonna remember to remember to forget you forgot me." Isaac has an insatiable mystery about him, at times his sensitivity seeps through while he sings hushed and apprehensively, like in "Gravity Rides Everything," and yet while you witness him scream "Bury Me With It," you can see his veins in his neck and the sweat rolling down his face from the 1st balcony. "And when my free time's gone, won't you promise me this, that you would, please! bury me with it!" Each ego is equally alluring.
Isaac, along with mates Eric Judy, Johnny Marr, Jeremiah Green, Tom Peloso and Joe Plummer, put on a stellar show at The Pageant on Wednesday, November 14th. I was fortunate enough to be granted press credentials to photograph the show, which was exceptionally exciting for me considering I have seen them 8 or so times and the closest I've been is the first balcony. So, being in the vacant pit designated exclusively for shooters, with cameras in my hands, at the Pageant, one of my favorite places to be, about 4 feet away from one of my favorite performers, was a sort of an apex for me, given how much I love MM. I feel pretty good about my images, yet found myself technically frustrated due to ever-changing, low lighting... an issue which Todd Owyoung - the guy I want to be when I grow up - reminds me is, "par for the course." I quickly learned that when you're shooting a more well-known act at a well-known tight ship like the Pageant, you really have to be on your toes. Instincts of both fan and photographer were battling, for sure.
Check out Jason Green's review of the show, paired with my photos at Playback: STL.... Hope you dig it, make sure to drop by and leave comments when you can! Thanks everybody!
