All hail the mighty Built to Spill, the world's most beloved purveyors of spaced-out cock rock. Too obscure to be famous and too famous to be obscure, Built to Spill are to connoisseurs of psychedelic mood music what an untapped case of Mad Dog 20/20 is to winos — a cache of treasures to be savored all night long.

"I can't get that sound you made out of my head." So goes the opening line of the opening song of Built to Spill's thoroughly genius Perfect From Now On — and if you're a fan, it's an apt statement. I was on hand to see them perform that album, the band’s 1997 major label debut, in its entirety at Terminal 5 in New York City last Thursday. And boy is my face melted.

With yesterday's alt-rock heroes Dinosaur Jr. and the Meat Puppets as openers, the bill was stacked with '90s-era comfort food. The entire evening could be seen as a testament to survival — the Meat Puppets survived drug addiction, gun shot wounds and prison to be here, Dinosaur Jr. survived retirement and Built to Spill have simply survived, by meeting and exceeding all expectations placed upon them by their zealous fans.

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