| Martsch
says he doesn't remember either gig, but that reports of the '05 show
being a "jamfest" are overblown.
"We actually
don't jam too much," he said via cell phone from Minneapolis
last week, where Built to Spill was kicking off the tour. "We
usually end our set with a long jam and during the show there might
be one or two songs that go off a little bit. People are really
exaggerating about the ('05 Omaha) show. We never played a show
where we jammed all night. We don't do that. It wouldn't be fair
to everyone or to us."
Martsch says
an evening's play list varies nightly. "We always try to mix
it up a bit," he said. "There are times when we lean more
one direction than the other, but we mostly try to get a good balance
of songs and jams." Playing alongside him on this tour are
Built to Spill veterans Brett Nelson, Scott Plouf, Jim Roth and
Brett Netson.
Martsch says
he writes a different play list for every show. "But on a trip
like this, since we're only going to a couple cities we've played
before, the set list may be pretty similar," Martsch said.
"I like to have a balance of stuff from all of our records
so that if someone only has one record, there will be something
that they recognize."
Mixing old and
new makes even more sense on this tour. In addition to supporting
You in Reverse, the band's last album released in April 2006
by Warner Bros., Built to Spill also is supporting the release of
limited-edition (2,000 each) vinyl reissues of Perfect from Now
On and Keep It Like a Secret -- remastered and back in
print on vinyl for the first time on Warner's, having originally
been released on Up Records -- and You in Reverse, available
for the first time on vinyl.
"They originally
wanted to release a box set of all of our records," Martsch
said, "but the other labels involved dragged their feet. They
did a great job and didn't spare any expense."
Omaha fans also
may get a taste of a Rasta version of BTS Wednesday night. On Tuesday,
Warner's released a two-song 12-inch featuring BTS original "They
Got Away" b/w a cover of "Re-Arrange" by The Gladiators
-- both reggae songs that have been performed on past BTS tours.
"Most of our stuff comes out of jams," Martsch said. "One
of them just happened to be a reggae thing."
So what exactly
will we be in for next Wednesday night at Slowdown?
"I'm not
sure myself," Martsch said. "We start our first show tonight.
By the time we get there, we'll be playing something else. You start
with a bunch of songs you think you'll play, and then realize a
few don't have things going for them. By the time we get there,
who knows what we'll be playing."
Back to 
Published in The Omaha Reader July 11, 2007.
Copyright © 2007 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.
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