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Planes Mistaken for Stars

live in Denver
2008
live show

Review by: Archangel
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Published on February 19th 2008

Even though the show was announced months ago, I still wasn't ready to see Planes Mistaken for Stars perform for the last time. And neither was the band.

Opener Kingdom of Magic was fine if you really dig Pelican and Drive Like Jehu. [Wait...what?? - Ed.]

Second act Mustangs and Madras impressed me: They opened with a Planes cover [Okay...what's going on here?], they used a melodica in a non-gimmicky way, and they have a guitarist who looks like Robert Downey, Jr. They sounded great, too.

But what matters here started at 11, when Planes took the stage and Gared modestly introduced the band before launching into "Belly Full of Hell," followed by the subsequent songs as they appear on Up in Them Guts: "Glassing," "Dying by Degrees," "Pigs," and "Dancing on the Face of the Panther." They grouped their songs by album, which worked out for the best when, halfway through the set, the original bassist came out to perform a few songs from the self-titled EP and, I believe, "The Part You Left Out."

The band was sounding great, but Gared was obviously having a hard time with the show, seeming to hold back at times, and eventually choking up about half an hour into the set and leaving the stage. He returned after 15 minutes, explaining only that he had had a meltdown. A short article on the last show from Denver's Westword, appearing earlier this week, might offer some insight into how he was feeling:

"It feels like I'm flying to a wake," he says. "It feels like I'm going to a funeral. It doesn't feel cool at all. It doesn't feel as fun as I want it to be. It feels very premature. It doesn't feel right, you know? I'm dragging my feet. You're going to see my boot heels for a mile. I got drug here. I didn't fucking walk into this. I got drug." (source)

Fortunately, he was able to play on and tear through an impressive selection of old favorites, having gotten through most of the Mercy songs during the first half of the set. During "End Me in Richmond," the barrier between the two-foot stage and audience was broken when a crowd surfer was pushed to the band's feet. This was all the encouragement a dozen of us needed -- people jumped on the stage to finish the song featuring the last line: "Fuck your standing still."

There was no encore in the "band leaves stage, soaks up applause and chants, returns to play last song" sense. Gared handed his guitar to the frontman for Kingdom of Magic, took his microphone, and leapt onto the crowd for "Thunder in the Night Forever! (We Ride to Fight)," which turned into a long, screaming mess of people.

This was a completely fitting farewell to Denver's best band. (You heard me.) The shirts were off, beer was spilled everywhere, old members made their return, and hundreds of voices screamed "We ride to fight!" in a powerful goodbye. I don't think anyone in the venue wanted to see this end, but all in attendance can be grateful for an amazing final show. RIP Planes.

Set list:

Belly Full of Hell
Glassing
Dying by Degrees
Pigs
Dancing on the Face of the Panther
Spring Divorce
Widow: A Love Song
Keep Your Teeth
To Spit a Sparrow
Never Felt Prettier
Little Death
Copper and Stars
Division
The Part You Left Out
Knuckle Hungry
Sratching Rounds
Leaning the Room
A Six Inch Valley
Say Not a Word
End Me in Richmond
Sicillian Smile
Thunder in the Night Forever! (We Ride to Fight)

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Posted by ibitchslappedyourmama on 2008-02-20 00:10:01

I was in Vegas for their last show...fuck. Well at least I saw what I thought was gonna be their last show a few months ago. and it's true, PMFS never really played 'Leveless', which is a bad-ass song. I really wish they played it the last time I saw them.

Posted by Archangel on 2008-02-19 19:25:15

Band said they were looking to release it as a DVD in a recent Myspace bulletin.

Someone was on-stage filming with what looked to me (someone who knows dick about cameras) to be a nice camera.

Posted by ashtraymonument on 2008-02-19 19:25:04

well there was a woman taping all three band's performances. so maybe a DVD will come

Posted by primeevil7 on 2008-02-19 19:03:56
My Score:

*preach on

My kingdom for an edit button.

Posted by primeevil7 on 2008-02-19 19:03:24
My Score:

this needs to be released as a dvd / live cd. i am so glad i got to see them multiple times, wished the tour wasn't cancelled at the end... i'm still mixed on whether or not i should have tried the trek to denver for this.

the best rock and roll i've heard. every album is incredible as a standalone and as a part of a discography. such a fantastic band who will be missed.

I don't often agree with you, but peach on!

Planes is missed.

Posted by colin on 2008-02-19 18:30:33

Posted by ashtraymonument on 2008-02-19 18:18:10
My Score:

this show was fucking amazing! every band was great.
PMFS played a great set.

Posted by Laurier on 2008-02-19 16:05:22
My Score:

I'm so sad i missed this only ever gt to see these guys the one time.

Posted by ven89 on 2008-02-19 16:01:16
My Score:

Fucking amazing show. Kingdom of magic is great stoner metal with a little bit of hardcore (fronted by Luke Fairchild, also of Git Some, who you should listen to if you haven't already.) Mustangs & Madras is always brilliant post hardcore, they played a new song or two which sounded great. They're on tour right now, check em out if they come near you. Planes was planes, nothing else needs to be said. RIP.

Posted by LookBackAndLaugh on 2008-02-19 13:05:15

Yeah, Kingdom of Magic really reminded me of Black Sabbath for some reason. This was a truly awesome show. The Final song was epic.

Posted by trevor_the_exploder on 2008-02-19 12:49:47

i'm surprised they didn't play standing still fast...would have seemed fitting.

Posted by damnitsderek on 2008-02-19 12:16:37

I've never fully gotten into PMFS, but after reading this, I'm pretty tempted to go grab some of their material. The only songs I have are "End Me In Richmond" and "Never Felt Prettier". Anyone got any recommendations of where to start?

Posted by tomc on 2008-02-19 11:38:09

"Which song did you guys play?"

Leveless

Posted by primeevil7 on 2008-02-19 11:01:54
My Score:

tomc,

Which song did you guys play?

Posted by tomc on 2008-02-19 10:49:30

"I like Mustangs, but seriously, why would anyone cover the band THAT'S PLAYING NEXT????"

they actually asked us to do it.
it's a song we had played a few times before that they NEVER fucking play.

Posted by MyStereoHasMono on 2008-02-19 10:38:32

R.I.P 1997 - 2007
Greatest Band Of All Time

Posted by AnotherBoringStory on 2008-02-19 10:18:07

Sounds like one hell of a show. They'll be missed.

Posted by inagreendase on 2008-02-19 09:02:20

I like Mustangs, but seriously, why would anyone cover the band THAT'S PLAYING NEXT????

Posted by primeevil7 on 2008-02-19 02:56:47
My Score:

fuck me I wish I was at this show.

You and me both...

Posted by copperandstarsco on 2008-02-19 01:46:42

fuck me I wish I was at this show.

Posted by Archangel on 2008-02-19 01:46:20

The opening band, Kingdom of Magic, sounded like a mix of Pelican and Drive Like Jehu.

And Mustangs and Madras started their set with a PMFS cover.

Maybe I should have listed them in the title of the review, or not included them at all. Oh, well.

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Planes Mistaken for Stars