I like Death Cab for Cutie. I really do. Ben Gibbard’s songs pack a wallop and lead to exclamations of “T*ngina THIS!!!” from listeners. That said, 1) I was only introduced to them five years ago, 2) their discography is not imprinted on my brain, and 3) while I love them, they are not my absolute favorite band of all time (but they are in the Top 5). However, I do appreciate great music and a great show and WOW Death Cab’s Manila concert gave those in spades.
Some random stuff first: the NBC Tent was the perfect venue for them in terms of capacity. There were only two sections – VIP and Gold – so even if you bought the less expensive Gold ticket, you still had a pretty good view of the stage. Also, while Death Cab is an amazing band, (unfortunately) I don’t think they would have been able to fill a larger venue (e.g. Araneta). Because of the small venue and the (relatively) fewer people, the concert felt like a larger club gig sans the alcohol.
I don’t know how else to describe the concert except to say that it was an awesome show that was Worth Every Centavo of my hard-earned money and the pain in my feet. Goodness. The last time I danced and yelled this much during a concert was the Eraserheads reunion three years ago.
Confession time: I didn’t know that Death Cab was such a great live act. Actually, all of our friends were surprised that they were so great live because they used to be so boring to watch *sheepish*. As Aids said, “May libog na si Ben Gibbard sa katawan!” (“Ben Gibbard finally has some sexuality in him!”). Perfect example: (the audio sucks but just watch him move)
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScVTAKLYRwE]
See? See?! He looks like a freaking sexy rock star! Actually, they (Nick Harmer, Chris Walla, and Jason McGerr) ALL moved like rock stars. Aids says he needs to study Gibbard more now 😛
What else can I say? They played my favorites YAY! Unfortunately for the people beside me, I sang along to “The New Year” and “The Sound of Settling”. I made Aids promise that should I die before him, he’d sing “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” at my funeral to make sure everybody cried 😛
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUZb3ghyaXc]
The only things that detracted from the experience were 1) the super tall guy in front of me (it’s not your fault that you’re tall but curse you still!) and 2) the bitch who elbowed me in the side to shove her way up front (I so wanted to accidentally step on her toes).
Aids’ concert review for Yahoo Philippines.
The setlist:
- A Lack Of Color
- I Will Possess Your Heart
- Crooked Teeth
- We Laugh Indoors
- Photobooth
- Doors Unlocked And Open
- Long Division
- Grapevine Fires
- Codes And Keys
- What Sarah Said
- I Will Follow You Into The Dark
- Title And Registration
- You Are A Tourist
- The New Year
- Company Calls
- Company Calls Epilogue
- Soul Meets Body
- Cath…
- We Looked Like Giants
- Sound Of Settling
ENCORE:
- Home Is A Fire
- Meet Me On The Equinox (“This song is about a vampire.” LOL)
- A Movie Script Ending
- Transatlanticism
The kicker:
I saw them in Wellington, New Zealand just 6 days earlier – kick ass concert!
YESSSS!!! They were worth ever single peso for the tickets. I’m still not over it 😀
Me either, they played the same set list you’ve posted here, and I’ve got that set as a playlist on my iphone!
Me too!!! Hahaha! I wanted to buy a concert shirt as a souvenir but it was too expensive 🙁
You can get t-shirts from their website for less than half the concert price – but not the concert shirt… 🙁
Unfortunately 🙁 And the concert shirt is somehow more special because it has the date you went 🙁