My Not-So-Big Ben

Mr. Monkey, Stein, and I went to the Nokia Theater to see one of my fave bands tonight -- Death Cab for Cutie!


It was my first time at Nokia, so I felt obligated to try something from the concession stand. Lo and behold, I got a hand-held pot pie! Tres tasty!

Nokia is quite a nice venue. We sat in the first row of the Loge section. Acoustics were pretty good.


Rogue Wave opened. If you haven't heard of them, I highly recommend their albums. Here are two clips of their hit "Lake Michigan," which you might recognize from the Zune commercial.




Then my dear Ben Gibbard and his buddies came on to the stage. I think Ben has slimmed down a bit. I love him and his angelic voice. The requisite clips...

"Crooked Teeth."



"Long Division."



The band starts "Soul Meets Body." Ben's guitar does not cooperate. Good times ensue.



Everybody sang along to "I Will Follow You Into the Dark."



"I Will Possess Your Heart."



"Sound of Settling" -- one of my fave Death Cab songs ever.



"Marching Bands of Manhattan" closed the main set.



Of course, as usual, "Transatlanticism" concluded the encore.



Good concert, but, admittedly, not phenomenal. As Death Cab for Cutie gets bigger and bigger, I find that the gigs just aren't as personal as before. I still remember swooning at a show at The Wiltern (so freakin' fantastic). Even the Plans tour stop at the Greek Theatre seemed to have more oomph than this Nokia performance. Maybe it was just the lackluster people around me. After all, even in huge stadiums, U2 can still make you feel.

I miss Ben's electric bongos. I look forward to watching him bang on those all metronome-like during "Title and Registration," and he didn't do it tonight. He actually mentioned the glaring absence of the electric bongos.

Maybe Death Cab just translates better in smaller venues.