Lane Daley 
The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory in Irving, TX (Dallas) was quite the scene on Thursday, October 7th. Eager fans lined up early, with their vaccination cards or negative COVID test results handy. For those that had neither, there were rapid results COVID testing pop-ups set up near the entrance. An unusual scene for sure, but if this means we can have concerts again, this girl is all in.
Opening the night’s festivities was Empath, a band hailing from Philadelphia. With their duel synthesizers and delicate melodies courtesy of frontwoman Catherine Elicson, they were a solid choice to ease the crowd into the night’s festivities.
Future Islands was welcomed by a thoroughly warmed-up crowd that was ready to rock out. It seemed like everyone else had missed live shows as much as me and we were all ready to get this dance party started. Their post-wave synth-pop tunes were, indeed, dance-worthy. During “Heart Grows Old,” singer Sam Herring threw himself onto the floor, mic in hand, and army-crawled his way across the stage. The band’s performance, and Herring’s masterful high-kicks, whipped the crowd into a big, sweaty frenzy.
By the time Modest Mouse took the stage, the night was in full swing. They hit us with “Fuck Your Acid Trip” from their latest album The Golden Casket, followed by “A Different City.” There was no stage banter between songs, just punch after punch of the rock we all wanted to hear. They treated us to a 17-song set, only 5 of which were from their new release. Once the familiar jangles of the banjo started, we all knew what was up. It was time for “King Rat” and we were all ready to scream “Well!!!” along with frontman Isaac Brock.
Modest Mouse kicked out the jams for their fans. From their most popular hits “Dashboard,” “Float On” and “Lampshades” to their more obscure tracks “Devil’s Workday,” “Dramamine” and “Cockroach.” It was a set to be appreciated by both long-time diehards and newbies alike.
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