Built to Spill rocked the fuck out at the Wilma last night. This was my 5th time seeing them. I don’t have the setlist but I remember they played Dystopian Dream Girl , an awesome cover of the Grateful Dead song Ripple, The Weather, Carry the Zero, You Were Right (totally boss crowd sing-along), Kicked it in The Sun (hell yes), Conventional Wisdom, Hindsight, and The Wait. Basically the best songs in the universe. Before the encore Doug came out by himself and played the first 2 songs off his solo album acoustic, Offer and Dream. The crowd was enthusiastic and appreciative, as is typical with the shows I have been to in Montana.
Also, I had an encounter with Doug (the bearded man in the pictures below) downtown before the show as he was walking to his hotel with some carryout from El Cazador. I was at the Wilma breifly buying my ticket with a small hope that I would run into him, and I did. It was one of those times that makes me feel like there is some greater design than just existence.
The best freestyle kayakers in the United States were in Missoula last week for the US National Team Team Trials. Click on the picture below to see more.
See the results here
Mom and Dad came to visit. One day we took a walk. Dad was not feeling well so he did not go.
Sweet rainbow that was outside our front door earlier this week.
Saturday was the annual Garden City Brewfest in downtown Missoula. The weather was on a 30 minute cycle of sun and rain that seems to be quite popular this time of year. When we got there the band Secret Powers was covering the entire Beatles’ album Abbey Road. I had forgotten how much I enjoy that record.
We were lucky enough to see Vampire Weekend a few weeks back at the Wilma Theater in downtown Missoula. Scheduled to play 3 shows in a row at Radio City Music Hall in September and with a current tour that has sold out almost every date, they have been gaining popularity rapidly in the last year or so.
The Blow opened, an interesting choice that we spectulated might be local, but turned out to be from Portland.
When Vampire Weekend finally came out the crowd was certainly receptive. Their songs are happy and fun, and the live sound was clear and bright like their records. Playing almost every song off of their new album Contra, and most from their self-titled debut, the energy level in the room was super high from start to finish.
Highlights for me included M79 with the crowd providing the intermittant ‘whoas’ and the choice of one of my favorite songs off their first album, Walcott, to finish their encore. I have listened to their 2 albums countless times and it was a thrill to see the musicians behind the music.
I didn’t take a camera but it looked a lot like this, with the addition of a half-dozen or so chandeliers similar the one on the cover of their first album.
It was their 3rd time in Missoula and their first US show from their current tour.
