Line-up

Venue

Forest Hills Stadium

1 Tennis Place, 11375, Queens, NY, US

www.axs.com/

Capacity: 14,000

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Additional details

Tour name: ‘Wide Awake’ + ‘Digital Ash’ 21st Birthday Full Album Shows

Doors open: 16:30

Concert in your area for Indie & Alt, Rock, and Folk & Blues.

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Built to Spill biography

Built to Spill is an American indie rock band, formed in 1992 by guitarist/vocalist Doug Martsch, hailing from Boise, Idaho, U.S.

Formerly of the alternative rock band Treepeople, Doug Martsch created Built to Spill in 1992 alongside Brett Netson and Ralf Youtz. Martsch's initial intention was to change the line-up after every album, and true to his word after the release of the band’s debut album “Ultimate Alternative Wavers” in 1993, Brett Netson was replaced by Brett Nelson, and Youtz replaced by Andy Capps. Built to Spill, and in particular Martsch became known for his jamming style similar to Neil Young, his elaborate indie-rock solos like Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis, and fractured and cut-up song structures and melodies in a similar vein to Pavement.

Along with cellist John McMahon and a number of ex-Treepeople, the band earned their second underground breakthrough with the album “There’s Nothing Wrong with Love”, finding further appraisal from the indie-rock genre. After Martsch’s first of three albums as the side-project, the Halo Benders, and signing with Warner Bros. in 1995, Built to Spill released a split EP with Caustic Resin titled “Built to Spill Caustic Resin” in 1996.

The move to Warner Bros. still allowed Martsch his creative licence and with a line-up of Martsch, Nelson, Netson and Scott Plouf, Built to Spill released their major label debut “Perfect from Now On” in 1997. The album, along with high-profile shows including Lollapalooza, led to a significant swelling of the band’s fan base, and earned a host of positive reviews.

With a notable lack of structural consistency and continuity, Martsch was forced to keep the same line-up as to be able to play both new and old songs, and earned a reputation for an impressively elaborate and unpredictable live show. With a now fixed line-up of Nelson and Plouf, Built to Spill’s subsequent release “Keep It Like a Secret” in 1999 proved to be the band’s tightest and polished release, once again earning warming appraisal from critics and fans alike, and marked their introduction to the pop charts. On the demand of fans, Built to Spill released the unimaginatively-titled live album “Live”, with the same line-up, however featuring once again featuring Brett Netson and Jim Roth.

The band’s subsequent album “Ancient Melodies” (2001) was the first album to be met with mixed reviews, and Martsch went on to release a folk and blues solo album “Now You Know” in 2002. Built to Spill’s sixth studio album “You in Reverse” (2006) was heralded as a return to form, if not their finest album, and the band embarked on a subsequent tour in support of. The band released their seventh full-length album “There Is No Enemy” in 2009 followed by a festival show at the Matt Groening curated All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in Minehead, England, and subsequently release the well-received EP “The Electronic Anthology Project” in 2010.

Live reviews

Given the lo-fi and intimate nature characterizing the music of Bright Eyes one might wonder how they can deliver an hour and half set without tiring the audience. This is truly a naive misconception. Their live performances are delivered with such potent emotional resonance and directness that the audience is left begging for more. At the Atlanta Tabernacle show during "The People's Key Tour" some fans were so ecstatic after the performance they nearly did a flip over the railing to grab a setlist.
The music of Bright Eyes also goes so much further than the lo-fi folk stigma attached to them. They have proven themselves to be dextrous and eclectic musicians crossing in to several disparate genres. "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" saw them channeling the synth-pop and dark wave sound championed by their contemporaries and fellow label mates The Faint. After all Conor Oberst was in the band Commander Venus with the group's lead singer Todd Fink well before the existence of either one of their current bands. Their 2007 album Casadaga takes a completely different approach stylistically to "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn" and a turn production wise comparative to their early recordings. It is a lush Country album filled with well defined instrumentation, but juxtaposed by Oberst's signature cutting lyrics. The setlist of a Bright Eyes show is sure to have the stripped down folk ballads written on the hearts of every diehard fan, but it is not lacking in the "more fun" nevertheless sardonic pop hits like "Four Winds" and "Lover I Don't Have to Love".
Though the genre of emo has been triumphed, abused and often rejected by the very people to whom it was first applied, it seems without a doubt appropriately attributed to the music of Bright Eyes. These "emo" shows are particularly enjoyable to go to because the entire audience seems to mutually offer their souls as a sacrifice to the performing band. Practically the whole venue knew all the lyrics at the Bright Eyes show I was attending and some of the fans were so emotionally invested in the performance they started to tear their hair out during the song "Road to Joy".
Despite presiding stigmas attached to bands such as Bright Eyes it is safe to say there are no dull moments at their shows. Judging from their lyrics they may seem like a band who take themselves too serious, but these preconceived notions vanish upon seeing them. Oberst is constantly cracking jokes and engages the audience in witty banter. Band members Mike Mogis and Nate Walcott have their performance down to a science playing with amazing precision and feeling, making for an unforgettable show.

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wjmcc

Couple reasons why you should go see Built to Spill live:
1) They tour the US almost every year. I've seen 6 times in 5 years.
2) They're incredible
3) You're always in for one or two 15+ minutes jam
4) Surprising covers are almost guaranteed (I've had MIA's Paper Planes, The Clash's Train in Vain and Captain Beefheart).
5) 3) and 4) often get combined. Last year (at Slim's in SF) I witnessed a 20 minutes version of Cowgirl in the Sand, with the guitarists from the opening bands joining in from the bar and the merch table
6) Doug Martsch often hangs out in the audience during the opening band set If you're still not sure, go listen to their Live album. Or just check them out, they're usually pretty cheap shows.
I can't wait for #7 in August.

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