Gig: Death Cab For Cutie @ Astoria 01/03/06

Ben Gibbard
Originally uploaded by Bartlett.

Saw DCFC last night. Oh my goodness, going to a gig in London is a little different to dear old Melbourne. That is what I thought as soon as we arrived "on time" ready for the doors to open at the Astoria (erstwhile home of Jeremy Joseph's G-A-Y). Doors were set to open at 7pm, it was quarter to and there was a huge queue. I mean loooooooooong! I know the brits love a good line but jeez!

When the doors opened (exactly on 7pm) and after the security checks I noticed the next "spot the difference":

John Vanderslice 8:00-8:40
Death Cab: 9:10-10:30
Curfew: 11:00

Out by 11. Makes a pleasant change to the main act coming on at 11:30. It was a bit of a relief given that I was terribly tired. I know; I am old! I certainly know I am old after last night. Thanks to The O.C. the mean age of the crowd would have been 18.5 years (seeing as it was an over 18s event... well you get my drift). And the geek-cool factor? Well, the crowd could have pretty much wallpapered the entire venue with their checkered vests and their wasn't a straight fringe in the house.

And the band?

Well I have to say that they played an excellent gig! They didn't rely too heavily on their recent O.C. chic and pulled up some excellent numbers from their past. I can't remember the exact setlist but brighteyes has Monday's setlist. It is not exactly the same (and we'll have more on that later) but it is indicative of the mix.

The show really kicked off with The New Year. The boys showed that they aren't really the effete indie pop rockers that their studio sound would suggest. They blew that song away, and many more after it. Many moments during the night left the "in" crowd a little stunned as Death Cab marched over their older tracks ripping them to shreds. The vitriol of Styrofoam Plates was amazing to see live.

That is not to say they didn't have their tender moments. The still pause in the middle of What Sarah Said was extremely touching and the build up to Different Names For The Same Thing's extended and delicate introduction was perfectly set off by the cranked up climax.

The set ended with The Sound Of Settling, which was an obvious bonus for the O.C.ers of the crowd who suddenly became a foot taller and threw their arms in the air (all with mobile phones attached capturing the moment for prosperity).

A loud stomping and cheering later, the band returned for their pre-requisite encore with I Will Follow You Into The Dark. Thanks to the mobile phone revolution you can see it here!



It was a touching moment. The whole crowd sang along (not all that well in San Sebastian it seems). I, of course, was waiting for another touching moment. Probably the reason I paid so much for the tickets on eBay... I wanted to hear the crowd chant "I need you so much closer" when they closed the night with their most beautiful track, Transatlanticism... and it never came. I can't even remember what they closed with because I was so pissed off. I was even more hurt this morning when I read that they had sung it the night before.

I have a mind to buy tickets to their return gig in May so I can see it. In the end, that is the beauty of a live gig, you never know what you are going to get. I didn't hear my favourite song but I wouldn't have missed Styrofoam Plates for the world. And with a band like Death Cab there is always going to be something else you would like to hear. The night has to end sometime.

Bartlett has poster a flickr gallery of the Monday's Astoria gig here!

Tags: gig, Death Cab For Cutie, London