Recently i had the amazing experience of seeing these Rock Royalties! For the first time- Cape Town finally had a chance to experience Parklife and Modest Mouse finally had a chance to visit and experience SA! (And vice versa, a big deal all round.)
Unfortunately, i had many issues with Parklife’s setup.
Firstly, the lineup was odd. The genres were a muddled mess like some last minute mash up. Klingande was the headliner for some odd reason, even though it was evident everyone was there to see Modest Mouse- who were INCREDIBLE btw. They were, however, using shitty borrowed equipment and the sound was not up to par (blaming Parklife here) but being the professionals they were- the band made it work! Isaac Brock made the crowd aware that MM is in actual fact pretty good and if were heard something that sounded off, it was probably just our ears because they're great. His showmanship was a definite WIN! Although, my point remains they shouldn't have had to struggle with equipment. Also, since it was MM’s first time in SA, i would've thought they'd have them headline instead of have them cram 20 years music and a recent album into an hour and a half set list for the eve! Since they weren't headlining and running late due to theeeee technical difficulties they couldn't even do an encore- which made some fan so crazed, so looney he decided to shame Cape Town by flinging an empty, crushed beer can in the direction of Isaac Brock’s head. Luckily, for the other guy’s sake, a brawl did not ensue although Brock called him out on it, ending off by saying “Don't throw shit at people.”
I'm just going off a guess right now, but i don't think we will be seeing MM for quite some time. I am not being unappreciative to Parklife arranging this festival for us to see Modest Mouse because, i really am grateful- i didnt think id ever see MM live. I am just giving my input on what was wrong from a fan perspective and hope it gets done to perfection next time round. Also, I'm embarrassed by what ensued and how things turned out. Being one of the most influential indie bands, its only common sense that they should be headlining and having bad sound quality onstage is any musician’s worst nightmare...
I still cherish the experience of seeing one of my favorite bands live. I honestly never thought id get to hear Isaac Brock’s lispy lyrics reach my ear holes in the flesh. Or experience him being funny or telling a joke. Never thought id get so close to a band Ive come to love through their wild lyrics and artsy, indie sound over the years. Never thought id see Isaac freak out on stage or knock his microphone during the intensity of the performance and perform ‘King Rat’ with his banjo- which made me leap about like an uber fangirl. Also, didn't expect him to get hurt on the bango during the song and then use glue to seal the wound. I guess, its time i learnt to upgrade my ‘Nevers’ to ‘Maybes’ and instead guess that- maybe Modest Mouse will return sooner than later with a beer can ready to toss at someone before their can tries to hit them! (.^_^.) KUDOS
P.S i suggest to check out their Strangers to ourselves album*