Since the last time Doug Martsch graced the stage, his beard has grown longer, Warner Bros. released his "You in Reverse" album. and he has become much more video projector savvy. Tuesday evening was the second night Built to Spill, alongside opener Camper van Beethoven, performed at the smoke-filled 9:30 club, but the second time around was no less lively than the first.
Camper van Beethoven played for over an hour, with a video projection including short films that were in sync with songs and other various looped visuals. The band formed back in the early '80s and is known for their ironic lyrical content backed by violin and other stringed instruments. Certain instrumental songs with reggae beat undertones had the crowd moving while the overlapping sounds of guitars with the violin put some in a harmonic daze. "Take the Skinheads Bowling" was a crowd favorite, backed by a video of crashing bowling pins. At times, the projection screen was a distraction. So was Built to Spill's Martsch, who sat on the left side balcony overlooking the stage, clearly enjoying the music.
As more and more people began to fill the room, Built to Spill set up quickly and opened with the track "Liar" from their most recent album. The projection screen flashed images by Mike Scheer, the artist who created the "You in Reverse" album cover. During an instrumental jam, a video with a man speaking an anti-war message was broadcast to the crowd with subtitles. When Martsch returned to the slideshow of Scheer's artwork, he checked with the audience to return to the correct slide.
Built to Spill played a range of songs from their six full-length LPs, including Martsch's solo rendition of "Twin Falls" from the 1994 album "There's Nothing Wrong with Love," which had the crowd singing happily along. During "Going Against Your Mind," Martsch broke his string, only to start up again with the crowd cheering. Other older favorites included "Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss," "Big Dipper" and "Else." As the show progressed, Martsch seemed to be entranced by the music. He closed his eyes as he belted "You Were Right," an emotional song to tribute old Bob Dylan and Pink Floyd rock hits ("You were right when you said/All we are is dust in the wind/You were right when you said/We are all just bricks in the wall"). After each song and the applause subsided, Martsch would only humbly say "thanks."
At times Martsch seemed more concentrated on the projection screen, with the artwork from Scheer and looping videos of crazy cats (a favorite consisted of one kitty crawling into a tall slender glass jar face down). The show concluded with an extended, perhaps unnecessary, jam filled with backward guitar and feedback, which was quite draining.
Of course, Martsch isn't the only member of Built to Spill, and audiences were consistently amazed by guitarist Brett Netson's talent to place his burning cigarette in the head of his guitar while he used both hands to play. All the while Martsch still fiddled with the projection screen as the crowd slowly filtered out. Before the jam session, however, the song variety and energy of their performance was uplifting, and one can only look forward to hear their next release and see how long Martsch's beard grows.
