Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Built To Spill
Don’t tell Built To Spill’s Doug Martsch that he’s been making music under this moniker for just over three decades. He’s very likely aware, but the original concept of Built To Spill, which involved rotating musicians in and out over time, was likely to keep the band fresh no matter what. While that didn’t end up being the case, the current iteration of the band, with Martsch joined in 2019 by bassist Melanie Radford and drummer Teresa Esguerra, certainly felt like they had not lost a step despite their lengthy career.
While playing a 7:30 p.m. slot before headliners Japanese Breakfast, the night was treated as a double headlining bill to some extent, with a large crowd filling the Generac Power Stage bleachers on Friday. Martsch and co. walked onstage calmly, and may have even thrown off some of the crew by going right into “Fool’s Gold,” as there were still advertisements showing on the video boards at the stage up until about 30 seconds into the song. That was the plan for the night, however; a straight ahead barrage of the band’s signatures with very little extracurriculars. In fact, it would be the better part of 40 minutes into the set before Martsch would even address the crowd, only to say thank you to the Summerfest patrons for standing there while they played music.
Over the course of 75 minutes, the band would deliver on a set that would jump through the entirety of their discography. Only two songs from 2022’s When The Wind Forgets Your Name, with the opener and “Gonna Lose” appearing later on in the night. Martsch, Radford and Esguerra all played tight, with little interaction needed to keep everything on track. Martsch would twist and tweak at distortion pedals by his side to give his guitar whatever tone he wanted, and the rest of the band would follow suit matching his intensity. They had all of the musical connection of a jazz combo, without actually playing jazz.
Positioned as a unified front on stage, the band could provide a wall of sound if need be, but got more into a groove as the show progressed. The final third of the set would pick up the tempo for the band, with “You Were Right” getting the crowd moving a bit more than most. Their cover of “Virginia Reel Around The Fountain” was a highlight as well, as Martsch would rip though an extended solo, with all of the skillset of a flashier guitarist despite none of the fashion. “Carry The Zero” would bring things home, just as a mist began to dampen the Generac Power Stage crowd. The band had avoided any severe weather, but a full downpour could have hit and they seemed like they would have just focused on delivering a technically sound set.
Built To Spill are a band principled in sound first and devoid of theatrics. Friday night’s set reiterated that, to an appreciative crowd that knew there was very likely not going to be confetti cannons and smoke machines filling up the air. The band put their all into what was ultimately a very fun, powerful performance, and it showed why they have the staying power that they do.
