That Was Wunderbar

Built to Spill at The Wonder Bar, Asbury Park, NJ, September 1st, 2012

When I heard that Built to Spill would be playing at Asbury Park's Wonder Bar, I snapped up a pair of tickets for CoolMom and me.  Like Sebadoh, whom I'd seen about a week ago, the influential Boise band, fronted by Doug Martsch, have been a favorite of mine for a long time.  The quirky lyrics, Martsch's high-pitched vocal delivery, and the band's bright and noisy guitar sound combine to form a package that will hook me every time.  I don't think Built to Spill have hooked as many people as their twenty-year catalog of work would warrant, but that's what allows CoolMom, me, and a bunch of absolutely die-hard fans to see a band this good at a sold-out venue as small as The Wonder Bar.

CoolMom has been under the weather for the last few days, and it saddens me that the end of her summer vacation has been marred by her slight illness.  She was determined to make this show, though, so we headed to Asbury for what was, likely, our last trip down there for the summer.  We enjoyed some burritos on the boardwalk at Pop's Garage and then headed over to The Wonder Bar.

We were early for the show, so we took a seat at the long, winding bar, and enjoyed a few beverages.  I was wearing my Jersey Shore Roller Girls t-shirt; and Kid Kill-O-Watt, injured jammer for the Anchor Assassins, introduced herself to us and told us to make sure to make it to the next bout on September 29th.  Brush with fame.

At around 8:30, RevoltRevolt took the stage.  CoolMom and I really enjoyed their set.  RevoltRevolt's 1990's indie-rock inspired sound evoked Pavement, The Pixies, maybe some Dinosaur Jr.  It took us back to our grad school days in the Pacific Northwest.

Helvetia, a project of former Duster member Jason Albertini, was up next.  Built to Spill's Jim Roth is also a member of Helvetia, so he was in for a long evening of performing.  Another really good set.  Like RevoltRevolt, Helvetia drew on some late 90's sounds; but the Helvetia sound was more experimental, more swirling and atmospheric.

For both openers, the floor of the performance space was only sparsely populated.  At the end of Helvetia's set, though, people began jockeying for position at the front of the stage as Built to Spill prepared for their set.  It would be about an hour before Built to Spill took the stage.  I had a few curmudgeonly moments during that hour as people tried to push and shove their way to a better position, but CoolMom held her ground impressively.

The band came out, tuned up, fiddled with some pedals and launched right into "Traces," "In the Morning," and "Reasons."  The crowd loved it and the whole room was transformed.  On "You Were Right," the entire bar sang and pumped their arms along with, "You were wrong when you said, 'Everything's gonna be alright'" and with each of the famous classic rock lines that Martsch sings throughout the song.  Other classics like "Liar," "Strange," and pre-encore closer, "Carry the Zero," whipped the crowd into a similar frenzy.

I love the styles of all of Built to Spill's three guitarists.  Martsch is one of my guitar heroes.  He's not a shredder by any stretch, but he pours an emotion into his solos that I think is rare in indie rock.  Roth and Brett Netson also take leads, and when all three are playing together, the sounds they achieve are really amazing.

In this Asbury Park Press article from a few days ago, Doug Martsch says, "We don't scream out and call for attention.  We just make music."  That was the band's approach last night.  Other than the "Awww, thank you," after each song, there was almost no stage banter or interaction with the crowd.  There were the usual shouted requests (even "Play 'Freebird'" which just never gets old, does it?); and in such a small room, you could tell that the band heard every one.  But they played the set they came to play.  It didn't matter that they left out some favorites, though, when you looked up at Martsch on the stage, playing guitar with his eyes closed and a little smirk beneath his beard.

Built to Spill didn't need to tell jokes and stories to connect with the room.  They did it throughout their hour and forty-five minute set by just making music the way they have for the last twenty years.  I'm still hooked.