Modest Mouse at Crossroads KC at Grinders

​”I don’t see any color besides black and white and like, tan,” drawled the guy behind me, staring at Modest Mouse swapping guitars on stage between songs last night. “Do you? Maybe I’m just…high.” High Guy behind me was, in fact, just high. Modest Mouse rocked gems from their full catalog in a spectrum of loud — at times, glaring — color. But he was on to something.

The Seattle sextet’s show at Grinders in the Crossroads — the band’s first appearance at the outdoor theater in Kansas City — was more mellow than the band’s previous sweaty, raging appearances at the Uptown. Maintaining a laid-back vibe was an impressive feat, given that the band seemed to encounter a slew of technical difficulties from the moment they emerged from backstage.