So
this is the New Year (to quote tonight’s hosts)...! After a false start due to
the annoying cancellation of the Skids' Swindon MECA gig, my 2019 Spring Dance
Card finally gets underway. Although for a time this one, a return by cerebral
and understated US alt-rock veterans Death Cab For Cutie, doing the rounds in
support of their fine, plangent 2018 album "Thank You For Today",
seemed in doubt due to the threat of snow. Thankfully, that never came about,
it's just chuffing freezing instead!
So a chilly drive down pitched me up at the venue at 7.30, queueing up to get in then realising I can use the O2 priority lane instead! Yay! However, I then had to hike up to the balcony, then back down again, and eventually to the outside of everything, where the gents portaloos were situated, as the normal bogs were being refurbished. Bah! Still, grabbed my usual house-left spot well in time for openers, The Beths, prompt at 8. A New Zealand quartet, they immediately impressed with some sturdy and effervescent female-fronted and 80's tinged indie pop, recalling the likes of The Popguns or The Katydids, certainly getting the seal of approval from Big Jeff, bopping and singing along down the front! Some lovely overlaid harmonies backing up the pure, Mary Lorson-like inflections of petite (and slightly nervous) vocalist Elizabeth Stokes augmented their high-tempo and quickfire melodic little numbers very well indeed. Fourth number "Running Away" was a superb amphetamine rush of a song with a splendid ascending guitar outro, after which Stokes burbled excitedly about the headliners; "this band Death Cab For Cutie are great and they're playing here tonight! They've been really nice to us, they don't have to be, they could be real jerks..." A double-header finale featuring a melodic call-and-response chorus, followed by an almost garage rock thrash, rounded off a mighty impressive support slot.
Another
circuitous loo trip was punctuated by a chat with FB friend and photo king
Martin Thompson, lurking outside for a smoke, then I somehow regained my spot
on the by-now rammed floor in time for Death Cab's arrival at 9 to the
background rumble of jungle drums. Surprisingly, they positively tore through
their initial clutch of numbers with unexpected power and punch, seeming
determined at this early stage to deliver a right proper "rock show".
This approach initially seemed odd and a little gauche, but I came to
appreciate the extra dynamism it offered, as opposed to their previous attempts
at rocking out, which I used to find clumsy and unsuiting to the material. And
there were times that I found myself doing a double take and wondering if I'd
turned up one gig early, as, with his short-sleeved black shirt, floppy fringe
and general stance and demeanour, DCFC mainman Ben Gibbard looked for all the
world like Jimmy Eat World vocalist Jim Adkins! Certainly he was a man in a
hurry, both scurrying around onstage and ripping through the songs without
seeming drawing breath.
After
an almost punk rock "Long Division", oldie "Title And
Registration" provided some small respite, before the hazy Summery vibe of
new single "Gold Rush". "No Sunlight" was great, a couple
of false endings being teased by a playful Ben. A false start then followed,
Ben's keyboard temporarily malfunctioning before righting itself for a
poignant, affecting and frankly beautiful "What Sarah Said",
tonight’s highlight. Whilst the set thereafter may have drifted slightly for
me, there were still highlights aplenty; "Black Sun" was moody and
melancholy, "Doors Unlocked And Open" a fluid road trip of a song,
and set closer "The Sound Of Settling" buoyant, upbeat and singalong.
Before that we heard Ben's evolving manifesto for DCFC live shows; no shorts
(!), no inserting the host city into the lyric of a song ("too
corny"), and never introduce a song with its title ("not a
problem," remarked Ben, "just something I choose not to do... so
here's a song that I'm not going to tell you the name of it!"). Contrary
bugger!
Another
fun moment, when Ben took the stage solo for the encore, noticing Big Jeff sketching
him down the front and dedicating an acoustic "I Will Follow You Into The
Dark" to him! A shout out from Ben for the "delightful" city of
Bristol before the sprawling, epic "Transatlanticism" ended the
night, building to a layered and looped crescendo to top tonight’s 2 hours
performance.
Out
via a set-list, a merch stop for the Beths CD and brief chats with Jeff,
Devizes gig buddy Alfie and Make A Wish puppet Walter's "dad"(!),
before a chilly blast past Swindon as Junction 16 was shut, necessitating a
trip to J15, a double-back and a post-midnight arrival home. Bah! Overall
though, despite a couple of slightly drifty moments, this was a fine,
unexpectedly rocking opener to gig year 2019, thanks to Death Cab For Cutie. So
this is indeed The New Year!
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