On The Scene: Tango 10-03-2012

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Back in 2004, when limewire and napster was all the rage, Death Cab for Cutie was one of the first downloads on my our computer. My brother, three years my junior, was in the dating game in high school, and it seemed his ladyfriend had some musical tendencies. So in the course of their relationship – our computer began to slowly fill with music I never imagined myself listening to – Damien Rice, Matt Nathanson, Elliot Smith, and finally Death Cab for Cutie. This was a whole other world of music to me, and well, it turned to into a hapless romantic. Not outwardly, but in the confines of my room, DCFC’s Transatlanticism was on constant replay, it was my secret music crush. In many ways, it got me through some of those awkward first years of high school. It was a phase I eventually grew out of, but I still found myself playing the hapless romantic from time to time, soaking in the nostalgia (it didn’t hurt that the band was constantly churning out albums, through with diminishing returns, save for their last album which was a huge step forward for them).

So when Death Cab was announced to headline the JUE festival, I immediately dusted off those mp3s and fell right back into Willis mode circa 2004. This was my Café Americain and damn it I was gonna rock out loud and proud for these guys. It’s surreal finding yourself singing along in glee in an open arena like Tango. Years ago I was almost embarrassed for how much I enjoyed DCFC, never daring to play it at parties or social events, but here I was alongside countless other fans, singing word for word every song like some psychotic groupie. Ben Gibbard’s voice is still so damn crisp and wondrous. When he banged on that piano it was just bonkers. And damn when they got in the heavier jams, like on “I Will Possess Your Heart” and “We Looked Like Giants”, it reached levels of badassdom that I didn’t think they had in them.

By the time “Title and Registration” came on I was a morbid mess, and that was only halfway trough their set. I’m shocked I even put in the time to record these shitty videos (the acoustics in Tango are not kind to my recording equipment) –one from each of their past four albums – yeah, that’s how lame of a fanboy I am. I’m gonna stop myself here before I embarrass myself some more. So thanks JUE for exposing me – you know me all too well. Enjoy the videos below, and ignore that voice you might hear behind the camera singing along, I swear it’s not me.

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