PopRocks! Show Review: Ben Gibbard at the 9:30 Club

Melco C., Music Correspondent:

 
PopRocks! is a is a tasty explosion of indie and alternative music reviews and other yummy pop treats published every Thursday by Melco on Gather.com

 
Ben Gibbard and David Bazan

May 10, 2007

Taking a break from touring with Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service, Ben Gibbard entertained a DC audience with a solo acoustic show last Thursday night at the 9:30 Club.  Before taking the stage, fellow northwest native David Bazan, formerly of Pedro the Lion, opened the set with his acoustic guitar and his soft and sweet voice.  Unfortunately, his voice may have been a little too soft and sweet, as the chatter in the club almost completely drowned out his singing.  His songs are quiet, yet beautiful, and it’s too bad more people weren’t paying attention.  However, Bazan handled the noise well and played on with just as much passion and soul as if he was the only one in the room. However, I did find myself missing his old back-up band Pedro the Lion just a bit.

Shortly after Bazan ended his set, Ben Gibbard came on and opened with a Donovan cover, “To Sing For You” which rolled right into a Postal Service song, “Brand New Colony.”  The striped down version of this song brought much more attention to the lyrics and almost changed the tune from a poppy carefree song to a mournful poem that tugged right at the heartstrings.  Though he wasn’t quite as rockin’ as with his full band, the acoustic set highlighted his masterful composing skills and singing abilities.  

The crowd was just as into his acoustic set as I’ve seen at any Death Cab shows, and everyone was singing along to the “Sound of Settling.”  He also played Death Cab songs such as “Title and Registration” and “Crooked Teeth” early in the set, which happen to be two of my personal favorites. Perhaps the highlight of the show was when Ben sat at the piano and played a cover of “All Apologies” by Nirvana. 

My one complaint is that he did not play “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” from the Postal Service album Give Up .  If there was ever a location to play this song, the 9:30 Club in the District would have been it.  But all was forgotten as he ended the set with the Death Cab song “I Will Follow You Into the Dark.”  This sweet love song really transfixed the audience and we all shared a musical moment.  That is, until a person shouted out “F--- Yeah!”  Though I was completely taken out of my musical daze, Ben played on un-phased.  However, he did take a moment to comment afterwards that “F--- Yeah was probably the last thing I would yell at that part.”

Later in the night, John Krasinski, who plays Jim from The Office joined Ben on-stage for a couple of songs.  I am quite the devoted fan of the show, and I was kicking myself for getting tickets to the earlier gig.  Being a rock fan, I should have known.  My lesson of the night?  Go for the late shows.

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Melco’s column PopRocks is published every Thursday in Gather Essentials: Music.  PopRocks is a collection of indie and alternative music reviews and discussions.

 Melco is a 26- year-old writer from Washington, DC.  In addition to writing about music, she plays a seriously rockin’ toy accordian.

 You can find all of Melco’s columns by clicking the PopRocks! tag.  You'll find Melco and other Music Correspondents, plus celebrity content and plenty of other music buffs at Music.gather.com.