This June alt-rock legends Modest Mouse played a show at the relatively-nearby Archer Music Hall in Allentown, which sold out fairly instantly. However, on August 19th Isaac Brock and his Portland-based crew (including longtime bassist Russell Higbee and longtime percussionist Ben Massarella) will be playing Philadelphia proper when they return to The Fillmore for a relatively rare indoor summer appearance from the band which (we’re assuming) will feature the city’s live premieres of songs from An Eraser And A Maze, Modest Mouse’s eighth studio album and first in five years, which dropped this June via Glacial Pace Recordings/Virgin Music Group. Here are Three Reasons why you should definitely come to the show…
1. AN ERASER AND A MAZE IS THEIR BEST ALBUM IN ALMOST 20 YEARS
Although albums #6 and #7 (2015’s Strangers to Ourselves and 2021’s The Golden Casket) feature a handful of bangers, Modest Mouse’s latest full-length is their best since 2007’s We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank, the band’s first and only LP with former Smith Johnny Marr. And while Mr. Marr doesn’t appear on An Eraser And A Maze, the LP does feature an array of figures from Modest Mouse’s history in addition to Higbee, Massarella, and more recent full-time members Damon Cox (drums), Simon O’Connor (guitars), and multi-instrumentalist Keith Karman: former multi-instrumentalist Tom Peloso, Good News for People Who Love Bad News drummer Benjamin Weikel, and even late founding drummer Jeremiah Green, whose drum programming can be found on “Absolutely Necessary Never,” the album’s most impressive track. The finished product, which embodies the sounds of every era of the band, is essentially a retrospective in 15 brand-new songs.
2. THEY’RE ALWAYS GREAT
Modest Mouse have never been the kind of band to require fans to find a way to enjoy sets almost entirely comprised of songs from a release that dropped six months ago. In fact, in recent years they’ve indulged in a few “classic album” tours. And I promise you will enjoy hearing a healthy handful of songs from An Eraser And A Maze for the first time. But Modest Mouse do have a lot of fan favorites of previous eras that audiences love to hear… and the band always delivers. You are likely to hear “Dashboard,” “Tiny Cities Made of Ashes,” and “Float On.” And, for those who appreciate “deep cuts,” on a large handful of dates they’ve been playing We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank opening track “March into the Sea” for the first time ever.
3. A NIGHTCLUB IS ALMOST ALWAYS PREFERABLE TO A SHED
Not that Modest Mouse haven’t played some amazing outdoor shows in the 215, including last year’s stop at The Mann with The Flaming Lips, which proved to be a highlight of the summer of 2025, and their now-legendary set sandwiched between R.E.M. (on their last-ever tour) and The National in 2008 (also at The Mann), when Johnny Marr was a member of their camp. But as legends who seem to always be on tour, who seem to split their time between the indoors and outdoors based on the season, it is quite nice to get to see them in a nightclub during the sunniest season… not only because it offers more outfit options and mosquitos pose less of a threat, but because songs like “Gravity Rides Everything,” “Fly Trapped in a Jar,” and “Cowboy Dan” were obviously written for nightclubs.
*Get your tickets here.
