Sunday night’s R.E.M./Modest Mouse/ The National triple-bill at the Amphitheatre offered some useful insights into the past, present and future of indie stadium rock, with each band representing a particular point on the dramatic arc of fame. R.E.M. — obviously comfortable in their well-deserved magnitude and still hip enough after all these years to include two of the most important acts around on their summer blockbuster tour; Modest Mouse — surprisingly effective in front of a crowd equal parts hardcore fans, R.E.M. early-comers and hipster-curious blog worshippers; and The National — now reluctantly being nudged out in front of larger and larger audiences to varying results.
The National had the unenviable dinner time opening slot, for the most part providing the soundtrack to the countless concert-goers searching for their seats. This distraction only aided The unflattering afternoon lighting and abundant blue seatbacks in sucking the intrigue out of the National’s smoky late-night mystique. Still, the expanded touring version of the band (with trumpet, trombone and keys/violin) hasn’t lost their momentum since playing the Phoenix back in October. They sampled heavily from 2007's Boxer — giving the still-excellent album what the National Post appropriately dubbed its “victory lap” — deviating only for the apologetic anthem “Baby We’ll Be Fine” and expletive leaden set-closer “Mr November.”
Sounding their entrance with a wailing siren, Modest Mouse took instant command of the now-relatively full Amphitheatre as a banjo-sporting Isaac Brock channelled his existential fatalism into a seething rendition of “Satin in a Coffin.” From the gnashing spitefulness of the song’s refrain (“Are you dead or are you sleeping? / God I sure hope you are dead”) Brock was obviously not out to endear himself to anyone else’s fans. And although Modest Mouse had no problem playing a few hits (namely the incredibly stadium-worthy “Dashboard” and “Float On”), Brock kept up an air of fucked-off detachment by dredging up such obscurities as “Wild Pack of Family Dogs,” The Lonesome Crowded West’s “Trucker Atlas” and the epic We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank b-side “King Rat.” Yet Brock’s seething intensity is wholly captivating. And backed by a band including the ever-aloof Johnny Marr and two drummers (who absolutely killed on my personal favourite “Paper Thin Walls”) Modest Mouse did well to substantiate the rumours that people were coming to this show just for the openers.
Leave it to R.E.M. to be the great dispellers of that misconception, though. Flanked by elaborate video screens that oddly enough resembled Raymond Pettibon’s Black Flag bars, R.E.M. (with drummer Bill Reflin as usual and touring guitarist Scott McCaughey) crested in on whatever wave of punk-ish energy fuelled their latest release Accelerate. Opening with “These Days,” “Horse to Water” and “What’s the Frequency Kenneth,” they slowed it down just long enough for mega-hit “Drive” — which sounds far more like Pink Floyd than it did in 1992 — before continuing with a fast-paced set containing nearly everything from the new disc.
Admittedly, this is probably the only thing that R.E.M. could have done to win me over. Having never been overly interested in the band past what was foisted upon me during their heyday, it was refreshing to hear that even after a number of tepid releases they still have something relevant to offer. Incidentally, I was impressed more by what they didn’t play — namely most of the songs that turned them into stadium-rock mainstays — than the occasional dip into obscurity (“Seven Chinese Brothers”) or blast of mid-life crisis (“Accelerate”). So when they finally dipped into the goldmine (“Orange Crush,” “The One I Love” and “Losing My Religion”) it felt more like a gentle reminder than a historical crutch.
As far as indie stadium rock goes, revelling in the present with Modest Mouse at their incisive peak is still where it’s at. But R.E.M. redeemed the past as much as The National offered hope for the future.