Day 3

Death Cab for Cutie played a concert in our gym tonight. That sounds so absurd, as though they're a nothing band in some small town whose only gig is at a high school rally. UCSD may have called it "RIMAC Arena" but let's face it, Rimac is a gym and there's no denying the fact that people not in the pit were sitting in bleachers and that there were banners for our basketball and volleyball teams hanging on the walls. It was obviously no Madison Square Garden, but I was really impressed by the stage set up; the stage and lights looked really nice and actually managed to conceal the fact that we were, indeed, on a basketball court.

Honestly, I was more excited for the opening bands than I was for Death Cab because I'm admittedly all that knowledgable about Death Cab. Ra Ra Riot and Cold War Kids were opening, both of whom I love. I had seen Ra Ra Riot at a small concert at the Loft here at UCSD a month or so ago and I was really excited to see them again. I wasn't expecting anything new in terms of the set list since they have only a single album, but I fell in love with the combination of guitar, bass, and string instruments they have. (Anything sort of orchestral rock sounding instantly has me; their songs remind me of my favorite Stars song, Your Ex-Lover is Dead.) Sadly, I was disappointed. There was nothing wrong with them but their sound was just lost in the big venue. I loved them anyway. Cold War Kids, however, were simply AMAZING. I would even say they were the best of the night. They sounded so soulful and perfect, and the music just filled the building.

Mollie and I were in the pit for the opening acts but decided to move up to the seats for Death Cab. Neither of us are the most ardent of fans and given a couple of less than ideal circumstances it seemed like a good idea since the pushing of the crowd didn't bode well for the rest of the night. Apparently we were right, as just before we left the crowd pushed forward (even though it was only roadies setting up and there were at least 15 minutes until Death Cab came on) and I got scissored in between two guys who were at least 6 inches taller than I. It is a truth universally acknowledged that being 5'2" isn't the best at concerts.

Death Cab were good, they are obviously really experienced since they've been around since the mid-90s! I have nothing bad to say about them. It was kind of funny to hear the ENTIRE place singing along to "I Will Follow You Into the Dark." And you just know there were a million couples there who were ecstatic that "their" song was being played. I did wish they had switched out the order of some of the songs, like ending with "Sound of Settling" to make it a more upbeat closing.

It was a really good night, overall, I'm so glad I went.