Rodents Never Say Die

When indie stalwarts Modest Mouse signed on to tour with R.E.M. and the National this summer, music fans couldn’t have been happier. The bill carried with it the promise of total vindication: For R.E.M., its latest album Accelerate was heralded as a return to form, and fans wondered if the new material would improve the band’s tepid live showings. For Modest Mouse, it was a chance to prove that its last two pretentiously long-titled albums, Good News for People Who Love Bad News and We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank (phew, that killed nearly 20 words), were not an indication that MM’s better days are behind them.

The good news (ha ha) is the tour is going well; at least for Modest Mouse. (R.E.M.? They’re still kinda disappointing.) Now, the Washington-based sextet has extended its schedule to include 10 extra dates, which it will headline solo after R.E.M.’s final stop in Atlanta. The first of those shows, tonight’s 8 p.m. gig at the Fillmore (1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach), will be the first time the band has played South Florida since they did a truncated set at Bang Music Festival in 2006. It’ll be a perfect chance for SoFla’s indie rockers to bicker about how much better the band was before 2003, or that its best days are yet to come, or that Smith’s guitarist Johnny Marr is ruining the sound, or whatever it is Modest Mouse fans whine about. Tickets cost $36.50. Visit www.ticketmaster.com, or call 305-673-7300.
Mon., June 23, 8 p.m., 2008