Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Steadier Footing
I'd quite forgotten what it was like to go to Big Gigs in London. Last night was Death Cab for Cutie at the Asoria, DCFC's first London show since they played ULU in February 2004. Most of the myspace kids had never seen them before, so anticipation levels were sky high. Most striking was how young the crowd was - in Berlin, in any case, the average age of a gig feels like 25 or so, but as a 20 year old in London I felt old. Around me I could hear AS-level girls bitching about their classmates, and the boys were preening their asymmetric fringes. It felt good to be back.
The gig was stronger than the Berlin show. Four weeks of touring Europe had built up a much more confident stage show, though the setlist was almost identical. Most pleasing was the sound quality and acoustics. You forget that these old theatre venues like the Astoria and Shepherd's Bush were designed for the effective projection of sound to the stage in times when PA systems were not as loud. It was brilliant hearing Ben Gibbard's utterly unique and sometimes haunting voice above the guitars and drums and keys. I definitely think his voice is the thing with DCFC - it's so high and angelic, with an almost childlike naivety. It's surprising when it comes out his mouth - he's brushing thirty, pleasently plump and has a lifetime of experience to speak of, yet this voice comes out of him, and he means every word he sings. Absolutely wonderful.
Death Cab will be coming back to Europe in the early Summer and have just announced a date at Brixton Academy on 28th June. Tickets from here.
posted by Unknown at 3/01/2006 02:24:00 pm
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