Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie
Opening Act: Telekinesis
The Pageant
St. Louis, MO
Sunday, October 2, 2011
General Admission
$35

I saw this concert almost two weeks ago, but it's still living in my head. It's time to start up the concert blog again. I need to document shows like this.

I've been in a musical rut lately. I haven't been becoming a fan of newer bands. Since I was a teenager, I've loved the British progressive rock bands of the 1970s, and it's been my favorite music for 20 years. But I used to be able to find modern bands that I liked as well. I worked at the best radio station in the world in college, and I listened to it for years afterward.

Then I moved to Missouri and started listening to classic rock radio. I found a few new bands here and there from recommendations. And I go to prog music festivals every year, sometimes several a year, but I find I enjoy a lot of those bands for their performance more than their music. I love the scene, but I'm not finding bands whose music I really want to absorb.

Almost two years ago, I quizzed friends on new bands they liked and checked out a few. I listened to the new modern rock radio station. Then it changed formats and I went back to classic rock. The effort did pay off, as I have a dozen albums by newer bands I like and I've seen a few of them in concert now.

I don't remember when I first heard of Death Cab for Cutie. Roy watched one of their concert videos and we both liked it. I liked the song "I Will Possess Your Heart", but I can't remember where I first heard it or learned what band did it. Likely, I was back home in Philly listening to WXPN.

That's what happened in August. I was visiting my dad for a long weekend, and WXPN was hyping an upcoming Death Cab for Cutie concert. They would be playing later in the week, after I flew home. I liked what I heard and thought I wouldn't mind seeing them sometime.

Tickets for their St. Louis show went on sale that Friday.

The show was at the Pageant. I have a love/hate thing with that place. More love since it went non-smoking and I moved to its neighborhood. But I'm so over going to concerts and not being able to see anything. There's a big general admission area, and lots of room for tall people to stand in front of me. Roy was interested in the concert too. We tried to get the reserved seats in the balcony, but they sold out. We snagged two general admission tickets.

On the same day, we bought tickets for the gala reopening of the Kiel Opera House with Aretha Franklin and Jay Leno. The concerts were the first weekend in October, a day apart. I wrote a note on Facebook bragging about how eclectic my tastes are.

I really like general admission concerts...sometimes. With my bands, I'm still the youngest person there and the crowds are mellow. I certainly don't mind waiting in line the day of the show to get a spot by the stage. But I didn't know what this crowd would be like - mostly kids, I guessed.

On the day of the show, I still wasn't sure if I wanted to grab a seat or try to stand by the stage. Roy didn't want to wait in line, so we agreed that I'd go there at some point and try to get two seats or just get a spot for myself in the pit. Roy walked by the Pageant around 3, and said there were a few people already in line. Maybe I should have gone then.

The Pageant has an early entry system. People over 21 can wait inside their bar and enter first. The bar opens at 5, so I aimed to get there then. There was already a decent sized line, with a wait to even get into the bar. It's funny, Roy's 19 years older than me, and when I go with him, I never get carded. This time they carded everyone. The bouncer was the only person who said anything about my Yes t-shirt. Roy said the same bouncer was at the door when he arrived. He went in at the same time as another older couple. The bouncer carded Roy too, but asked the other people questions about the Monkees to prove their age!

The only thing memorable about the wait was going through security. I travel a lot and go to concerts a lot. This was the most thorough check that I've ever had. The woman seemed offended that my concert purse had so many compartments and zipped sections. I don't know what she was looking for - I actually had to pull out my business cards in one small pocket to show her that was all that was in there. But she was fine with my aspirin bottle and my wrapped up sandwich.

The wait went quickly. The area right in front of the stage was already full; I later found out that the fan club people got early-early entry, so the club had more people in it than I expected. The front row of general admission seats was already full too. There's four tiered levels on the floor, going from the pit up to the bar. At first, I grabbed two seats near the soundboard back by the bar, but then I decided on two stools in the next tier down. They were less comfortable to sit on, but gave me a better chance to see over people. Roy found me and all was good. I like this place when I'm in the balcony or standing in the front row, but this wasn't bad.

The opening act was a band called Telekinesis, a young garage-level band that had some ties to Death Cab. They didn't play a long set and they were better than they could have been.

Death Cab for Cutie opened up with I Will Possess Your Heart. Yay, I figured they'd do this song, but it made for a great opening. Hypnotic bass line and piano. I bought MP3s of their latest two albums to prepare for the show, but this was really the only song I knew well.

It was one of the next songs that really caught my attention. Not sure which one it was, but the band got a lot heavier than I was expecting. My biggest issue with heavier music these days is how it trends to low-frequency mush - the singer growls, the guitar is distorted until it sounds like a bass, and all I can discern from it is the rhythm of the riffs. It's why I don't listen to KSHE or the Point, radio stations that play newer music. I want songs that take inspiration from Roundabout, clean and bright sounding. Anyway, Death Cab got heavy, but stayed sonically interesting to me. I loved it.

As the show went on, I found myself really enjoying it. The songs had development, good sounds, personality. I hadn't liked the Ben Gibbard's voice all that much on record, but live, I got it. There was a good variety of sound - the singer alternated between guitar and piano. My view of the stage was partly blocked (tall people standing in my tier) and I couldn't see much of guitarist/keyboard player Chris Walla on my right, but I think he was responsible for a lot of the layered sound that gave their songs that lovely atmosphere. Roy and I commented to each other that we liked the songs with piano best, that extra dimension brought something more to the music.

My favorite song of the night was We Looked Like Giants, with Gibbard adding drums to his other instruments. Roy and I joked during the show that most of the songs were so concise, no jams or dramatic finishes, compared to bands that we usually listen to. When they did stretch out here with the drum duet, I took notice. This sound, in the context of a song-based group, was something I've been wanting, but missing.

The other non-music parts of the show, like the stage set and interaction with the crowd, were great too. This night was one of the baseball play-off games. Roy and I have this fake-rivalry going on; I don't care about sports, but I will always root for my hometown. And our hometowns were playing each other. Before the encore, Ben Gibbard gave out the score, with the Cardinals leading the Phillies by a run. After the encore, he came back on stage to announce the Cardinals had won. I turned to Roy and made a show of stamping my foot and cursing, but I must admit it was a great way for the show to end.

The show reminded me of some that I had gone to when I was younger - when there were so many bands out there from the previous 25 years that I knew I would eventually love. I went to see Traffic on their reunion tour, when I only knew two songs from them. I figured that would be my only chance, and I didn't want to regret missing them after I delved into their catalog. I loved the show, and stopped by Record Castle the next day to buy all their used Traffic albums.

Gibbard also spent time talking about buying some records down the street at Vintage Vinyl. Later that week, I made my own trip to Vintage Vinyl. I re-bought their newest album Codes and Keys, this time on LP. And I picked up several cheap EPs and CDs. Last night, we sat down and listened to the album, lyrics in hand. I just listened to it, without turning it into background music. Aside from the new Yes album, it's been a while since I've done that.

I bought a t-shirt after the concert, and we walked home discussing our impressions. Roy didn't like it as much. We have such similar taste in music, but where I heard all the dynamics in their sound, he heard a repetitive rhythm section that made the songs sound the same. Roy liked the studio albums better. He found some comparisons - the production style and vocals in Codes and Keys made him think of Trevor Horn's production of the Dream Academy. And Gibbard's vocals on Grapevine Fires reminded him of Al Stewart.

The review in the Riverfront Times the next day helped me put this in perspective. Death Cab for Cutie are not a new band. They have a pretty extensive catalog, and their music means a lot to some people. The show was sold out, so people must have some way of learning about bands like this. Only one of my coworkers was familiar with them; he listens to satellite radio and the bands his kids like. That's something I should look into... um, the satellite radio part, not having kids just so I can learn about their favorite bands when they'd be teenagers!

I'm excited right now, but I'm trying not to overdose on new music or harp on it too much. I wonder if I would have enjoyed the show more if I was familiar with the music or if the surprise of enjoying so much made it that much better. I do know one thing though...

Next time, I will be in the front row singing along with all the songs.