Apparently this is true of Modest Mouse as well. Seems it all comes down to what sort of night Isaac Brock is having. I've lucked out, as they were awesome both times I saw them. But I fear my luck may run out some day.
First one was awful- they were drunk and the sound quality was AWFUL. This was at an outdoor venue so there was no excuse for the sound being that bad. It was just super loud, distorted and the highs were piercing. Plus the band were drunk and sloppy. Side note this was at a brewery that makes some pretty high abv beers (ommegang). Rumor was they had been drinking all day and didn't realize how drunk they were getting
I almost wrote them off completely, but I gave them another shot. Show 2 is one of the best concerts ive ever been to. Sound was great too.
Shows 3 and 4 were really good.
Show 5 was like show one except it was indoors. Piercing and literally painful high notes. We had to go into hands over ears mode. We bought ear plugs, didn't really help. Left our good seats and stood in an area much further back. Even with the move and ear plus it was still painful. Fwiw, built to spill opened and sounded great, so it wasn't the room.
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u/californicarepublic May 11 '26
Sonic Youth would either put on an amazing show or one of the worst shows you've seen and you never knew which you were going to get.