Stampede vs Modest Mouse in Calgary, AB At Wildhorse Saloon

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz)

Seeing Modest Mouse during Calgary’s Stampede is probably the last place I ever expected to see them, but I'm glad I did.

Beforehand I imagined it would be a contradictory setting, a birds versus worms situation you might say. As a fan for 25 years (or more), few bands have shaped my relationship with music as much as Modest Mouse. I grew up in the suburbs relating to their consistent themes of urban isolation, detachment, absurdity, and humorous observations. As a Calgarian, stampede is a time that can wear your patience thin. After so many years of being a fan but never had a chance to see them, I wondered how it would all mesh.

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz)

As soon as the band walked onstage, any doubts whether the Stampede setting would complement the music or work against it, rode off into the sunset. Banjo in hand, wearing a cowboy button-up beneath a western-inspired smoking jacket, Isaac Brock and the band opened with "King Rat,". It was obvious this wouldn’t be an awkward pairing of indie rock and Stampede culture. Backed by an explosive lighting display, the performance immediately transformed the parking lot tent into a venue I always imagined a Modest Mouse show would feel like.

The band played songs from across their entire catalog spanning nearly three decades. A few notable alt-western tracks like “Cowboy Dan” and “Baby Blue Sedan” were welcomed nods to the country atmosphere. Sprinkles of their newest materials from An Eraser and a Maze (2026), surpassed my expectations by miles. Not a single song felt out of gas with ample fan favourites throughout the night.

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz)

The third song of the night, "Doin' the Cockroach," was one that could almost describe stampede-esq characters downtown at this time of year. During “Cockroach”, the diversity of cowboy characters in the audience was apparent with the night’s first (and only) crowd surfer drifting over cowboy hats as security tried to wrangle them safely down.

During songs like "Dramamine," "Paper Thin Walls,” "Dashboard," and "Float On" you could see and hear fans throughout the venue singing and dancing along. Of the newer material, “Absolutely Necessary Never” and “Third Side of The Moon” were standouts with a much larger soundscape than I had anticipated based on pre-show listening. Every song was played with conviction, and it sounded good (like really good). The mix and audio gave each instrument room to breathe, and it was loud in the best of ways. Combined with one of the strongest lighting designs in recent memory, the performance felt immersive, far beyond just a stampede tent. “What People are Made Of” was an amazing eclipse to the evening that left nothing on the table and had everyone wanting more.

What felt like years of waiting to see Modest Mouse perform finally happened in what felt like an unusual place to see them. But it wasn’t. Both the band and Wildhorse Saloon aligned sonically with their ability to make the West feel crowded, not-so-lonesome, in a parking lot.

Photo credit: Matt Wallace (@citizenblitz)

Setlist:

King Rat (2009 - No One's First, and You're Next)

Picking Dragon’s Pockets (2026 - An Eraser and a Maze)

Doin' the Cockroach (1997 - The Lonesome Crowded West)

Dashboard (2007 -We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank)

Cowboy Dan (1997 - The Lonesome Crowded West)

Baby Blue Sedan (2007 - Building Nothing Out of Something)

Speak N Spell (2026 - An Eraser and a Maze)

Dancehall (2004 - Good News for People Who Love Bad News)

Tiny Cities Made of Ashes – (2000 - The Moon & Antarctica)

Fire it Up (2007 - We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank)

Absolutely Necessary Never (2026 - An Eraser and a Maze)

Out of Gas (1997 - The Lonesome Crowded West)

10:54 Dramamine (1996 - This Is a Long Drive for Someone with Nothing to Think About)

Paper Thin Walls (2000 - The Moon & Antarctica)

Float On (2004 - Good News for People Who Love Bad News)

Third Side of The Moon (2026 - An Eraser and a Maze)

What People Are Made Of (2000 - The Moon & Antarctica)