Built to Thrill

On this cold Halloween night Boiseans swarmed out of the cold and into the Egyptian Theatre to glance a look at Boise's only major label recording stars, Built to Spill, led by local legend Doug Martsch. But first they would have to wait for what in Boise could sometimes be misery, the opening act.

Fortunately, this time the opener was locally renowned band, Dirt Fisherman, which on Halloween featured Jim Morrison, Howard Stern, and three other creatures from beyond the grave. The band rotated performers often featuring Gina Gregerson and KT Shanafelt as driving forces on their Gibsons. Well at other times they'd bring in frontman David Grapp (Jim Morrison) on his Strat, while one of the ladies would sing as the other played guitar.

The crowd seemed to favor the double Gibson barrage that the ladies put on. The driving beat at times sort of grungish and times a little punk caught the attention of the crowd waiting to see BTS. When Grapp entered the stage, he at times seemed on while at others didn't seem to be taking the show seriously, maybe too much Jim Morrison filled his soul. As the Fishermen worked through their set, you could sense the crowd's energy growing in anticipation of Built to Spill.

While Built to Spill set up stage, you knew they meant business as evidenced by the three Strats across the front. From the first note the band took off with their melodic, jamming, yet almost hypnotizing music. From the first note the crowd knew it had chosen the right place to be on Halloween. As Borat, Wayne and Garth, and a superhero named Tony moved to the sounds BTS made, it became obvious that the three guitarists were more concerned with working together to form a driving groove for the crowd, rather than fighting among one another to be Johnny extended solo. That cooperation rather than competion was beautiful to see especially with three such talented guitarists-Doug Martsch (guitar and vocals), Brett Netson (guitar formerly from Caustic Resin, and a guitarist that I didn't know. Any one of these guys could have impressed the crowd by himself.

The show was amazing from beginning to end. They hit one of my favorites, The Plan from Keep it Like a Secret, in just their second song . They casually moved between older and newer music playing just about everything the crowd wanted to hear from Keep it Like a Secret's You Were Right to Goin' Against Your Mind from You in Reverse.

As the show ended with Randy Described Eternity (I Think), happy Boiseans filed back outside into the cold night air. Walking back to my rig, I wondered when Boise would have its next good show. While thinking about it I realized that good shows seem to be coming through more often than when I first moved here four years ago. That is definetly a blessing and so is Built to Spill!