Boise’s indie/alternative rock legends Built To Spill rolled into town to play the Granada last week coinciding with the venue’s sixth anniversary party. Built To Spill was one of those bands in the 90s that combined the wash and noise of some seriously distorted and loud guitars with some sublter, softer vocal styles to great effect. Doug Martsch’s unmistakable high-pitched voice is such a perfect counter play to the loud wall of noise coming at you from the band that it produces a cool sound and a cool effect that was part of that really influential movement back in the 90s. I had never seen the band before live but was psyched to finally be in town to catch them (was out last year for the Dino Jr. double bill), and they certainly hit all the right notes in a very solid and strong performance this night.
Sadly I missed Telegraph Canyon, Fort Worth’s buzzing up and comers, but I heard they were great as per usual. I caught a little bit of the Finn Riggins set at the end and they were ok, they didn’t really wow me with their stuff, but it was upbeat, it was rocking so they certainly had some good energy.
Finally Built To Spill hit the stage and proceeded to tear through their catalog with pretty much one great song after another. The band is something to watch live as there is not much movement, outward energy from the body language of the band but they have the distortion pedals on full and Martsch is just up there wailing away through some of these great songs. The sound and the band seem almost in total disconnect which creates a kind of cool vibe to it all, as the band is so laid back and the songs can generally be that way too, but undoubtably there will be a distortion solo and rock out in there. Also notable is Martsch’s kind of offbeat singing style, jerking his head side to side, it all creates an atmosphere that is a perfect setting for these songs and is unmistakably tied to this band. A real highlight was on the fabulous “You Were Right”, which really killed the house with its high energy and perfect hooks.
These guys were certainly one of that bands that kind of created some very melodious and loud alternative/indie rock throughout their career and have a great batch of songs that sound fantastic when blown up in a live setting. They are a band that mixed the major-key solos with some more slack and dissonant elements to create a cool loud and quiet contrast that really punches home on some of these songs. If you have caught these guys before live I’m sure you know what I am talking about, but certainly if you are like me and just haven’t ever caught them live it is a good show and they still bring some serious noise and rock to the stage, which is always a good thing.
