There’s Nothing Wrong With a Built To Spill Concert
Article and photos by Aidan Heilman
Built to Spill is a guitar and vocal centered indie rock project created by and centered around Doug Martsch, the only permanent member since the band’s inception in 1992. Since their start in Boise, Idaho, Built to Spill has toured the world and released nine full length albums, the second of which brought them back to Chicago at Metro for the 30th anniversary of There’s Nothing Wrong With Love on August 22nd of 2024. The band chose Rich Mattson and The Northstars and Floating Witch’s Head to join them on this anniversary tour, making for an engaging mashup of americana, psychedelic garage, and indie rock.
Just after doors opened the venue was nearly empty save for staff and a few people in the crowd. The most densely packed section was the stage. It was populated by several microphones, two drum sets, two bass guitars, an electric guitar, an acoustic guitar, and a keyboard. Over the course of the next hour the crowd slowly packed in, everyone waiting excitedly for the opening acts. Rich Mattson and The Northstars were welcomed onstage by the crowd’s applause at exactly eight PM. The four piece band was fronted by Mattson on vocals and lead guitar, accompanied by his partner Germaine Gemberling on backup vocals and acoustic guitar. Behind them Chris Petrack and Calvin Lund played drums and bass, respectively. Mattson and Gemberling shared smiling glances throughout the show as they played their matching sunburst designed guitars. Petrack remained locked into the rhythm with a mean stank face and Lund kept it cool with his sunglasses and an ongoing smirk. They finished off strong with their new single “Rendezvous With A Star”.
Soon after, Floating Witch’s Head appeared on stage. The three piece band, also from Boise, Idaho, is composed of Travis Ward on guitar and vocals, Michael Mitchell on drums, and Eric Gilbert on keyboard. The band was very intriguing in terms of both their sound and style. Ward and Gilbert intermittently switched between playing rhythm and lead parts, all while Ward sang rhythm driven melodies and Gilbert held down droning bass parts. Mitchell particularly drew my attention due to his appearance and musical technique. The first thing I noticed was his beard, which had grown past his chest. Then, as he sat down to play the drums he took his shoes and socks off, set them aside, rolled his jeans up above his ankles, and began playing the drums barefooted! Furthermore, his facial expressions were unlike any drummer I’ve seen before. Many musicians possess the typical “stank face” as they get into a groove with their instrument. Mitchell, however, had his mouth open seemingly as wide as he could as he was drumming, almost as though he was trying to take a huge bite of the music. Aside from his appearance, his utilization of the drumset itself intrigued me. He generally played very dense grooves, even on songs with relatively slow tempos. In addition, he alternated between snare and cowbell almost interchangeably for one song, added a third hi hat cymbal on top of his regular hi-hat for another, and even had a mini hi-hat next to that that he played throughout the whole show. To put it simply, Mitchell did a lot of things that I had never seen before as the band played songs off of their new album You Look Like A Rainbow. They ended with an entrancing improvisational version of their song “Medicine Man”.
Not long after Floating Witch’s Head finished packing and hauling their gear offstage, Doug Marsch of Built to Spill silently entered the stage with his guitar, amps, and pedalboards. The crowd cheered as soon as he revealed himself under the light of the stage. He remained unfazed, and got to work meticulously setting up his assortment of sound altering machinery with an almost stoic and meditative composure. A cord inserted here, a dial turned there; it was clear this man had honed his craft, technique, and setup. The crowd waited patiently. After roughly fifteen minutes, the rest of the band joined him onstage one by one and got situated with their instruments. For this tour they had Teresa Esquerra on drums, Melanie Radford on bass, and John McMahon on cello. Once everyone was ready there was a series of nods between the bandmates and they began playing the first song off the album, “In The Morning” . They played through the entirety of There’s Nothing Wrong With Love without saying a word in between tracks. They didn’t need to say anything. The crowd, now packed in almost as densely as it could possibly be, erupted with applause every single time a song ended. Marsch demonstrated his mastery of his instrument and equipment by perfectly tweaking the sound of his guitar all throughout the performance. The group didn’t miss a beat and filled the soundscape of the room with their mix of instruments. The band all exchanged smiles and seemed to be enjoying themselves just as much as the audience was. Aside from Marsch, that is, who kept his meditative composure save for once when he briefly forgot a lyric, at which point he laughed at himself and the crowd cheered. After the album was finished the band left the stage, and then returned for a magnificent six song encore comprised of songs from their various other albums. At the very end Marsch finally said a few "thank-you-for-coming-outs" and "give-it-up-for-the-openers," and just like that the show was over. On the whole the performance was very professional and polished, sounding nearly exactly like the recording. For fans of Built to Spill or even those who are just looking for a good show, this tour is a must see.