I headed back to the 9:30 club Sunday night for a double bonus concert featuring Stars as the opening band for the headliner and now most well-known indie band (but not technically "indie" anymore, if we're talking record labels), Death Cab for Cutie.
Stars were absolutely fantastic. I was expecting something low-key and mellow from them, considering I usually pop in Nightsongs (Le Grand Magistery, 2001) as I'm getting ready for bed, but they totally rocked the place and the lead male vocalist, Torquil Campbell (who I just discovered is also an actor and has made appearances on "Sex & The City," among other popular shows) was as energetic and inspiring as they come.
For those of you who haven't heard Stars, I highly recommend them. They are what I call "ambient" pop, or in other words, indie-electronica as influenced by the likes of the Pet Shop Boys and The Smiths, with modern contemporaries being the Postal Service and Belle & Sebastian, among others. You know you love some keyboards and synths and drums played with mallots. That's why they call it "dreampop." Anyway, it's hard for me to describe, but something about listening to Stars makes me feel cool. So take that as you will. The blend of male and female vocals (Amy Milan's voice is effortless) adds a unique element, as does Torquil's very passionate performance, including a few dazzling trumpet parts.
As for Death Cab... well, they were good. I've never been hardcore Death Cab, but as the big indie fan that I am, I have to appreciate them. There was no shortage of little OC-fan teens in the crowd, and the club seemed especially packed, even for a sold-out show. That said, it was a nice atmosphere and the crowd was respectful, down to the granny (or some other elder relative or friend of one of the band members) who was up in the family balcony section overlooking the side of the stage. She was up on her feet the whole night clapping and snapping photos! It was great.
Despite the fact that their new album is chock full of emo-ballads, the music itself was lively. They performed the majority off Plans (Atlantic, 2005), but also mixed it up and played at least one song off every album, which was nice. They were able to really rock out and get the crowd going for songs like "The Sound of Settling," but at the next moment bring the place down to a hush, as in the first encore song, "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" which featured Ben Gibbard under a spotlight with his acoustic guitar.
Chris Walla, the "mastermind" behind Death Cab's album production, as well as producer on other popular indie discs (The Decemberists's Picaresque, to name one) was a surprising and unexpected character in person. My impression was that he seemed like he was in another world-- not in any "I'm on drugs" kind of way, but more like a "huh??" kind of way, but maybe it's just part of his inaccessible artistic genius. As an aside, his speaking voice is quite high pitched, in a way that catches you off guard when you first hear him utter any words. Maybe this is why his banter seemed mostly unintelligible to me.
Anyway, I can stop writing now and pass the rest off to you, dear reader, because thanks to NPR: All Songs Considered, you can listen to Death Cab's full concert online. It's an audio broadcast of their Monday night show at the 9:30 club, but my guess is it's not far off from what I heard on the first night. It's probably just as good as having been there. For starters, you don't have to worry about getting your clothes all smoky... Enjoy!
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