Built to Spill played the Paradise – 9/4

Indie lifer Doug Martsch brought his current iteration of Built to Spill to the Dise for the first of two nights celebrating thirty years of There’s Nothing Wrong With Love.

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Amid the band’s revered ’90s run, Built to Spill’s breakthrough There’s Nothing Wrong With Love has always sounded like the outlier to me – though not to its detriment. Sandwiched between their shaggy debut, the ambitious sprawl of Perfect from Now On and the hook-y Keep It Like a Secret, the oft-wistful, intimate songs of Love render it a more unassuming classic that’s unsurprisingly close to many a fan’s heart. Its largely pared-back sound also makes it a great candidate for the full-album tour treatment with a current BTS configuration that eschews the five-piece, triple-guitar lineups of yore in favor of constant member Martsch plus bassist Melanie Radford, drummer Teresa Esguerra, and special guest cellist John McMahon.

McMahon played the distinctive cello on the original record, and his presence on stage was a key element in bringing it to life at the gig, particularly on a rarely unearthed track like “Fling.” The LP’s certified favorites (“Car,” “Big Dipper”) have been staples of every Built to Spill lineup, but hearing them alongside the real deep cuts added a new layer of appreciation to both categories of songs.

Radford and Esguerra are a capable and energetic rhythm section who successfully navigated the lighter touch many of these tunes call for, and also dialed it up when necessary. The record’s heaviest moment – an abrupt segue from the sweet and simple “Twin Falls” to the explosive intro of “Some” – sounded perfect.

Martsch, forever a man of few words and many notes, was as compelling in his singer-songwriter-y moments as the opportunities towards the end of the record and elsewhere in the setlist that he took to shred. BTS may be less jam scene-adjacent now than they once were, but Martsch can still take you somewhere with a guitar solo like few others who’ve ever signed to Sub Pop.

Love‘s 12 tracks naturally made up the lion’s share of the setlist, but an appetizer of Perfect‘s “Made Up Dreams” and an encore of a few more oldies rounded things out satisfyingly. They’ve been changing it up each night, but the first of the two Boston shows actually didn’t feature a single song from their post-’90s output (which remains pretty underrated).

It was a fun night celebrating a great record, improved by a treat of an opening set from veteran Olympia-via-NYC duo Kicking Giant. Singer/guitarist Tae Won Yu and drummer Rachel Carns laid down some pure, lo-fi K Records goodness with the aid of the former’s incredible ’90s scene photography projected behind them. Check out photos from both sets below.