ABOUT LAST NIGHT: Built To Spill @ UT

 
“Spill it”, screamed the extremely-inebriated-backwards-Phillies-cap-wearing young man standing next to me, while he and his buddies danced along like swerving drunk-driven cars to the music of one Built to Spill, still one of the finest beard-rock bands to crawl out of the lonesome crowded west. I always thought they were the best-named band in indie-rock — because if nothing else, Doug Martsch and co. were built to spill their guts in a blaze of six string glory. Last night, after 20 years of fandom, I  finally got to see them live. These 40something dudes had more energy than most of the bands half their age that have come in gone in the space of BTS’ two-decade career. Forget what you think a guitar is supposed to sound like. Their sound ebbs and flows as if Fenders were engineered specifically for this purpose of performing BTS songs. Martch’s voice — high, wide and handsome — is like the seventh string on those guitars. Last night the whole shebang was nothing short of mesmerizing. Closing out their set with a sublime “Carry The Zero,” they encored with a spooky cover of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper,” capping a pretty much perfect night. — MARK LIKOSKY