Last night, for example, some non-newsie pals of mine (AKA people with normal schedules, or "Normies") were off to see Death Cab for Cutie in downtown Sac, and while they're a little tamer than my usual fare, I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Monday night than downing a few beers and watching some live music. So I was in.
An hour or so before the show, we passed by the venue on our way to grab a pre-show pitcher or two down the street, and found that hundreds of little emo teenagers rounded the block, shaking in anticipation. Oh boy.
So in addition to Death Cab, of which I recognized three or four songs before the show, The Cold War Kids were supposed to be playing, along with some other nobody band. A quick YouTube investigation led me to discover that The Cold War Kids played that one song that I'd heard on the radio with some regularity but assumed they were somebody else. So alright, I'll check them out.
But as it turns out, someone in that band was sick and they had to cancel only a few hours before the show. Hey, it happens... but more on that later.
Death Cab for Cutie was actually pretty good, for the type of music that they play. They sounded good, they had some decent energy, and if I had been a teenage girl, I probably would have been extatic to see them. Fortunately (for many reasons) I'm not, so I kept my distance as I took it all in.So yeah, good show. About what I expected, which wasn't a whole lot, but I wasn't disappointed. They weren't as much fun to watch as Wyclef was on Saturday, but I enjoyed myself, aside from a few gripes that shall now be unleashed...
For starters, I decided to take a quick bathroom/beer restocking break after about 3 or 4 Death Cab songs. To my dismay, I found that the beer garden, along with all beer dispensaries, had been shut down. It was barely after 9 PM, the main act had just started, and the place had gone drier than Utah on Mardi Gras. Broken and beat, I returned to the show with a frown that would have made one of those sad clowns shed a tear for me.
On top of that, one of the opening acts canceled. Now, in my book, that gives you two options... When I went to the Bridge School Benefit a few years back, Eddie Vedder and Flea were supposed to do a set together. Unfortunately, Eddie had a family emergency and had to cancel, leaving the promoters to call in the quick replacement of My Morning Jacket. By no means an equal, but they filled the void nicely, and everyone was happy.
The alternate option is for the remaining bands to say "Hey, sorry about that, but here's a few extra songs, maybe some random covers, and if we all play a little extra we'll all go home happy". I think that fully seems reasonable. I don't care if the songs haven't been rehearsed and sound like crap, but how about a quick rendition of "Taking Care of Business", or maybe a choppy version of "Free Bird"? That'd kill like 12 minutes!
But no... the first opening act played for 30 minutes, which was probably a blessing in all fairness. But Death Cab performed a solid 90 minute set, complete with a 3 song encore that contained one of their hits. Not bad, but clearly no attempt to make up for 1/3 of the show dropping out. There was a brief mention of the fact, a song dedicated to the guy that was sick, but no apology or attempt to make it up to us, the fans (well, I use the term loosely).
Back in the early 90's, Metallica and Guns N' Roses were co-headlining. James Hetfield caught fire from a misplaced pyro and was rushed to the hospital. GNR could have gone on stage and made up for the sudden cancelation... but Axl decided he had a sore throat and left the stage after only a few songs. The result? A big ol' riot. Now I don't expect those emo kids to start tipping police cars, but come on.
So overall, not a bad show. Could have used more music and more beer, but I suppose I went in without sky-high expectations, so it's hard to leave feeling too angry. Especially when you've been listening to downer music for the last 90 minutes.
Oh and one last thing, they've gotta be the weakest band in the history of music to use the word "Death" in their name. Just sayin.
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