In a sleepy corner of the Hudson Valley, where time tends to move a bit slower and the stars burn a bit brighter, a rare celestial event took place on Friday, October 17. The Ulster Performing Arts Center (UPAC), a beautifully intimate theater that feels more like a vintage space observatory than a concert hall, played host to a once-in-a-generation alignment of indie rock heavyweights. With Built to Spill opening the portal and Modest Mouse guiding the mothership, Kingston was temporarily transformed into a sonic wormhole, launching its audience into deep orbit on a journey through both the cosmos and their iconic 2000 album The Moon & Antarctica.
First contact came via Doug Martsch’s long-running Boise-based project, Built to Spill. From the get-go, the band’s on-stage presence was quietly radical, most notably an amp boldly broadcasting “FUCK ICE” in gaffer tape, a message transmitted without need for elaboration. With a catalog stretching back over three decades, their set played like a time capsule of future warnings and ancient melodies, quite literally, as the opener was “Trimmed and Burning” from Ancient Melodies of the Future.
Built to Spill, like Modest Mouse, has long been hailed as a band that defies genre and definition, and this performance was no different. Tracks like “Else,” “Conventional Wisdom,” and “Kicked It in the Sun” reminded the crowd why Martsch’s songwriting still ripples through the indie galaxy. Drummer Teresa Esguerra powered the set with cosmic precision, especially on the newer song “Gonna Lose,” while Radford took center stage with a glowing cover of Heartless Bastards’ “The Mountain.”
Their sound was pure cosmic rock, expansive and reflective, pulling the audience into a trance-like orbit. As Built to Spill worked their way through tracks like “Stab,” “So” and “The Plan” from 1999’s Keep It Like a Secret, the band’s intergalactic prelude concluded with “Fire to Dust,” a clear sign this was no mere warm-up act, but a tether to reality before liftoff.
After a chaotic intermission best described as a black hole of beer lines, it seemed nearly the entire theater funneled out into the lobby. If you were claustrophobic, this was not at all the place you wanted to end up in. Making matters worse, unless you sprung for venue’s reusable plastic cup, you were not allowed to re-enter the theater area after finally being served. Resulting in an absolute bottleneck of mass confusion, by the time showtime rolled around, it felt like you were a mouse on a hamster wheel trying to get back to your seat in one piece. Then, the lights dimmed and none of that no longer seemed to matter.
As a hush fell over UPAC like lunar dust settling on the Sea of Tranquility, suddenly out came Modest Mouse’s fearless leader Isaac Brock, grinning wide and apparently in a wonderful mood. In a rare moment of personal reflection, he addressed the audience with characteristic wit, commenting “Usually I don’t say much before we play,” scanning the room like a curious space captain, “but you all look like kind people… a lot of shoulder-length hair.” With that, Brock and crew launched into a full performance of their 2000 magnum opus, The Moon & Antarctica, taking the crowd on a front-to-back journey through one of indie rock’s most ambitious and existential albums.
Opening up with the beloved one-two punch of “3rd Planet” and “Gravity Rides Everything,” for longtime fans this performance of The Moon & Antarctica was more than a nostalgia trip, it was a pilgrimage to a distant world we first visited in the year 2000. An album that pushed the boundaries of indie rock into the unknown, it fused lo-fi aesthetics with philosophical wanderlust, existential dread, and lunar beauty. It’s a record that dares you to look up at the stars and question both the universe and yourself.
The current Modest Mouse lineup felt like a seasoned crew navigating a familiar star system with renewed energy. Isaac Brock remains the unhinged genius at the helm. A poet, madman, and punk philosopher all at once. Tom Peloso provided sonic glue, switching between keys, horns, and bass with quiet versatility. Russell Higbee’s low-end groove gave weight to every riff, while Jim Fairchild’s celestial guitar lines acted like solar flares across the set. On drums, Davey Brozowski kept time with rocket-like propulsion, matched in rhythm by Ben Massarella’s auxiliary percussion, a duo that made every track feel both grounded and otherworldly.
It’s no exaggeration to say that the band sounded the tightest they’ve been in years. Brock, trading riffs and glances with each member, was clearly having a blast. Their chemistry? Stellar. As the band tore through The Moon & Antarctica from front to back, it was clear that Modest Mouse was operating on a wavelength far beyond the ordinary. Tracks like “Dark Center of the Universe,” “A Different City,” and “Alone Down There” hit harder than ever, carried by the weight of time and a band that’s still flying at full power. “The Stars Are Projectors” was restarted after a false ignition, a classic Modest Mouse moment, but when it finally lit up, it burned bright across UPAC’s ornate ceilings.
The intricate arrangements were elevated by a dazzling light show that transformed the theater into a living nebula. Introspective songs like “The Cold Part” and “Life Like Weeds” shinned the brightest, as the lights flickered in sync with the rhythms, illuminating the historic venue and casting an otherworldly glow on the audience. The experience was not just auditory, it was a full sensory immersion into a band that has truly mastered the art of live performance.
Meanwhile, “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes” morphed into a full-blown supernova as Brock played his guitar with his teeth, flinging his custom Wick around like a man possessed by the ghost of Hendrix on a zero-gravity bender. It was glorious chaos and fans savored every second of it.
When the final notes of “What People Are Made Of” rang out, the band vanished briefly as UPAC braced for reentry. But instead of returning quietly, the crowd was treated to a Jaws-esque fake-out as the iconic John Williams theme crept through the speakers. Suddenly, the band jumped the shark in the best way possible, launching into a surprise cover of The Cure’s “A Forest,” haunting and unexpected.
Then came the gravitational shift “Float On.” With over 520 million streams under its belt, it remains the band’s most earthbound hit, and in that moment, every person there went nuts. Hands in the air, hearts full, voices raised, the room was no longer a theater but a starship singalong.
Still, Modest Mouse wasn’t done. “Never Ending Math Equation” bent time and space with its looping logic and lyrical gymnastics. “Doin’ the Cockroach” brought the pests we’d been itching for, and “Ice Cream Party” added a surreal touch of sweetness. But it was the final song, the elusive B-side “Night On The Sun,” that truly made the Kingston crowd feel like they’d seen something rare and something special. The song has been scratched off several recent setlists, but on this night, the stars aligned.
As Brock sincerely thanked the crowd, you could tell the gratitude went both ways. For many in attendance, this show felt like standing on the event horizon of memory and momentum. From the intimate setting of Kingston’s UPAC to the intense energy crackling through the band, even the most seasoned fans walked out thinking this might have been the best Modest Mouse show they’ve ever seen.
The Moon & Antarctica remains one of the most forward-thinking, lyrically rich, and emotionally resonant indie albums ever made. And 25 years later, it still sounds like a beacon from the far reaches of the universe, urging us to question everything and dance while we do it. This October run has seen Modest Mouse traverse New York like a constellation tour. From lighting up Rochester’s Kodak Center and Ithaca’s State Theatre, to sold-out shows at Brooklyn and Huntington’s Paramounts, they once again proved why they are often considered one of the most important and influential bands of our time.
Modest Mouse will wrap this cosmic campaign at the storied Capitol Theatre in Port Chester on October 22, but those who witnessed the Kingston launch caught lightning in a bottle, or perhaps more appropriately, dark matter in a mason jar. We got to watch The Moon & Antarctica rise once more. Not on a record, or in in a memory, but in real time. Loud, alive, and rocketing through space. For longtime fans, it was a dream realized. For newcomers, a baptism in starfire. In the cosmic stillness of Kingston, NY, where the foothills of the Catskills brush against the edges of the galaxy, Modest Mouse achieved full-blown sensory liftoff and it was nothing short of pure magic.
Modest Mouse | October 17, 2025 | Ulster Performing Arts Centre | Kingston, NY
Setlist: 3rd Planet, Gravity Rides Everything, Dark Center of the Universe, Perfect Disguise, Tiny Cities Made of Ashes, A Different City, The Cold Part, Alone Done There, The Stars Are Projectors (Restarted), Wild Pack of Family Dogs, Paper Thin Walls, I Came As A Rat, Lives, Life Like Weeds, What People Are Made Of.
Encore: A Forest*, Float On, Never Ending Math Equation, Doin’ the Cockroach, Ice Cream Party, Night On The Sun.
*The Cure cover
Built to Spill | October 17, 2025 | Ulster Performing Arts Centre | Kingston, NY
Setlist: Trimmed and Burning, Else, Stab, Gonna Lose, Conventional Wisdom, Kicked It in the Sun, So, The Mountain*, The Plan, Fire to Dust
*Heartless Bastards cover
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