Just back from the Built to Spill show at the Newport. So good, so very very good. They played with a band called the Delusions, which has some of the people that helped out on the latest BtS album. The opening was somewhat confusing, as the very first act was just a guy who later played in both the Delusions and BtS’s sets. I never caught his name, or found out why he was playing first. He started by himself, and was joined by 2 members of the Delusions after a few songs. He seemed to have a Neil Young complex, and he was pretty lackluster. Up next were the rest of the Delusions, finally bringing some excitement to the evening. They sounded similar to Built to Spill, circa Keep it Like a Secret, but just lacking some of the charm and energy. Definitely good though; I’m thinking about checking out one of their albums. By the time Built to Spill got set up and ready to go, I was more than ready. They launched into their set, and I was in heaven. Incomplete and out-of-order setlist: You Were Wrong, Car, Carry the Zero, In Your Mind, Everyone, Made-Up Dreams, Velvet Waltz, Untrustable/Part 2 (About Someone Else), Twin Falls Idaho, The Dream Police(Cheap Trick song?), Nowhere Nothing Fuck-up, and they finished with a really impressive version of Free Bird. Cliché? Maybe. Butt-rock? Ok, ok, say what you will about Skynrd, but it really worked as a huge finale. No chance of an encore after this one, it went out big. In conclusion, Doug Marsch is my hero, and Built to Spill tore shit up. Good night.