Neil Young w/ Death Cab & Everest - Live At The MTS Centre
>> Friday, 17 October 2008
I didn't bring my camera with me last night, so I have no Neil Young/Death Cab photos. Sorry. If anyone out there has some they could send my way, it'd be greatly appreciated. All I can offer in return is photo credit, which will undoubtedly gain you the respect and admiration of your peers.
Also, I showed up just as Everest were wrapping up their set and don't have much to say about them.
Random Thoughts and Observations During Death Cab:
1. Ben Gibbard's guitar was plagued by technical issues during the first four songs - two of which were on my "wish list" ('The New Year' and "Bixby Canyon Brige') - and that kinda sucked; fortunately, his pristine vocals offered some consolation.
2. Gibbard put forth a surprising amount of energy, even during the slower numbers.
3. No Postal Service songs were touched.
4. A healthy mix from Trans, Plans, and Automobiles (Oops. I mean Narrow Stairs) was played with the peppy "Sound of Settling" and the epic "Transatlanticisim" leaving an indelible impression on me. Oh, and my wish list ended up a dismal two-for-eleven on the night.
5. Being surrounded by 10, 000 people clearly indifferent to the band I was essentially there to see was a historical first...and a tad surreal. The man sitting next to me didn't look at the stage once during their performance while the couple in front of me politely listened to one song, deemed it dross, then left for the remainder of Death Cab. It all makes sense though, so I'm not surprised nor offended - this was a Neil Young crowd, true and true.
Random Thoughts and Observations During Neil Young:
1. At 62, Neil Young is still fucking awesome - lively, piquant, and clearly passionate.
2. Sploosh! During NY's first song, a hapless group of people 15 seats over received an untimely beer shower, putting a sort of literal damper on their evening. Poor folks.
3. In my section (120), five rows down from my seat, a classic battle between The Standers and The Seaters raged, with the defiant, youthful Standers refusing to yield ground to the ornery, aging Seaters. Strategems employed by the Seaters included: forcefully tapping shoulders followed by upturned palms and a "c'mon!"; tossing rubbish at the backs of The Standers; and, finally, complaining to the usher. This final tactic resulted in security being called, a rather large man who judicially listened to both sides before ruling in favour of The Standers.
4. You could always tell when NY was playing new material - a flurry of people would rush to the bathroom and/or reload their alcohol.
5. The Beatles cover as the lone encore was a pleasant surprise.
6. At 62, Neil Young is still fucking awesome - lively, piquant, and clearly passionate.
Oh yeah, I already wrote that.
Infinite Playlist - None
5 comments:
death cab rocked. i think a lot of folks missed out.
I also was very impressed with Death Cab. I was one of the few that was looking forward to seeing them more than NY. Gibbard's vocals were excellent live. Playing Trans as the last song was great. After seeing DCFC for the first time I can say that I am now a bigger fan of them then I was before.
You hit the nail on the head... "At 62, Neil Young is still fucking awesome - lively, piquant, and clearly passionate."
Rock and Roll is here to stay!
i couldn't agree more. trans was the perfect ending. i was struck by how earnest ben gibbard was.
oh, and neil young was pretty good too.
My Aunt Ruth went to school with Neil Young until he dropped out of Kelvin High. Ruth, who was friends with him back then, tells me that one Halloween, Neil and his friends decided to pull a prank on her by throwing a pumpkin at my poor Grandma's door. The smashed pumpkin made quite a mess and the mischievous boys ran off. My Grandma was not pleased.
At the time this story was told to me, I was utterly obsessed with The Smashing Pumpkins and thought it was a neat coincidence that Neil Young smashed a pumpkin at my Grandma's house, and that years later my fave band of all time, The Smashing Pumpkins, would do a cover of Cinnamon Girl by Neil Young. I thought it was such a special coincidence at the time. I guess when you're young, and obsessed you connect the dots any which way you like. But even today whenever I think of Neil Young, I laugh and think of how mad he must have made my Grandma that Halloween! I have this picture in my head of my Grandma scowling and shaking her fist in the air muttering "Curse you, Neil Young, curse you!"
that was a very good story. i quite enjoyed reading it.
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