By: Alex Wood
Built To Spill performed an intimate set at the Subterranean on Sunday, the capacity less than half the size of their usual choice of venue.
Though the band is supporting their recently released record Untethered Moon, their set drew heavily from earlier releases, offering fans an appreciated variety.
Opening with “On The Way,” a mid-tempo rocker from the new album, the band eased their way into the set, amplifiers blaring as the song reached its distorted coda, working its way to an explosive instrumental finish.
The band surprisingly followed this with “Get A Life,” a highlight from Ultimate Alternative Wavers, the band’s 1993 debut. The song was a blast of energy, featuring blazing, noisy guitar solos that demonstrate how the band has secured such a dedicated following over the last two decades.
The guitar work remained the highlight throughout the show, the solos’ use of dynamics and explorative nature guiding the music in all possible directions.
Though older songs like “Center Of The Universe” and “Stab” were the most well-received by the audience, newer tracks like “Living Zoo” and “Pat” packed the same energy, proving the band can still write as well as ever.
The band performed “Heart (Things Never Shared),” a track from Doug Martsch’s 2002 solo album, toward the end of the set. The unexpected song played like a ballad, a fitting choice for the intimate setting.
The main set concluded with “Carry The Zero,” a classic from Keep It Like A Secret, its heavy instrumental jam moving endlessly upward, a perfectly climactic finish to the set.
Though fans would be hard pressed to find a fault within the main set, the encore proved to be the highlight.
Martsch dedicated “Twin Falls” to his mother in the audience, a regular practice for Built To Spill’s Chicago dates. The delicate indie track gave way to “So,” a highlight from Untethered Moon, the song’s unbelievably heavy instrumental sections broken up by the singer’s simplistic verses, drastic dynamics providing the song’s force.
“Big Dipper,” arguably amongst the band’s best songs, gave longtime fans their last fix of older material before “Goin’ Against Your Mind” ended the show, the latter stretching out in long instrumental bursts, the catchy, bouncy chorus interrupting the jam occasionally.
Built To Spill has developed an extremely dedicated fan base over the years, and after the Subterranean set it isn’t hard to see why. The band’s songs are powerful to begin with, but they truly excel when delivered with the high level of musicianship that rarely exists in the alternative-meets-indie scene that they first appeared in.
Though it’s unfortunate that the band is grossly overlooked by music fans as a whole, their underrated nature allows for a few lucky fans to catch the legendary group in a setting as small as Subterranean, potentially a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. As they have for more than 20 years, Built To Spill delivered, never letting their followers down throughout their long run.
Stream
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Download Entire Show (mp3 .zip) - audio via Jeff Frank
Setlist:
Encore:
