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I don't remember the first time I was on someone's guest list. I wish I did. I could point to that show and remember it as the beginning of my addiction. It's gotten so bad now that I'm unlikely to go to a show if I'm not on the guest list, or someone else's plus-one.
So when my friend Liz offered me her plus-one for the Death Cab For Cutie, Spoon, and Mates of State show at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, I not only said "hell yes," but also volunteered to be the designated driver. (For the month of August, I'm doing a detox and cleanse. This means no booze, no caffeine, no sugar...and for the middle two weeks, nothing but raw fruits and veggies. It's a great way to make your body all happy again after a hard summer of partying.)
The bands were playing both Friday and Saturday nights, and Liz asked me to accompany her on Friday. Since I'd just been coding up the birthdays section on rightround's home page several days before, I happened to know that Friday was Ben Gibbard's 30th birthday, so I figured it'd be the better night of the two.
Liz and I arrived and watched a few Mates of State songs. It was weird to see them on such a big stage. It was a good set, but it didn't seem to have the same magic as when they're close together on a smaller stage and you can watch them interact with each other. Then we went backstage to see if our friends from Spoon were milling about anywhere. We found their sound guy, Jeff, but the boys were all downstairs in their dressing room getting ready, so we went back out and found a truly excellent spot to watch the bands.
Spoon
L-R: Josh, Jim, Britt, Eric |
Spoon's set that night was a bit off — there was sort of a weird vibe, and the songs and song order they chose didn't seem to fit with a set that began while the sun was still up and ended after it got dark. Then Death Cab came on, and they were delightful. It's great to see how they've grown over the years, and to watch them go from playing little 300-something capacity venues to this huge 6,500 person outdoor venue (and sell it out two nights in a row!). Our friend Jim from Spoon finally texted us, so Liz and I went backstage again to hang out with him. Jim was very curious about my cleanse, and kept asking me what I had in my bag. I pulled out an avocado and some dried mango, which made him laugh. He kept asking me if I had any marinated bark in there to go with the avocado. I went out to watch Death Cab for a while longer, and then the three of us went back to San Francisco for Ben's birthday party. On the drive over, Jim played us some stuff he's been working on in his studio with bands like What Made Milwaukee Famous (whose new record, Trying to Never Catch Up comes out on Barsuk Records next week), which was wonderful.
We arrived at the private birthday party, where a drunk girl was standing and blinking at the door guy, repeating, "It didn't say anything in the paper," to which he responded, "It didn't say anything in the paper because it's a private party, and you're not on the list!" We went in and proceeded to the bar, where Jim kept trying to get me to have a drink ("What you really need, Elise, is a large Starbucks coffee and a beer!"). We bonded with Nick from Death Cab when Jim, Liz, Nick, and I realized that we were all Aquariuses. Oh, and that cute devil-horn thing that Nick's hair does: It's natural; he has a cowlick that causes it. (I just had to ask.)
Death Cab for Cutie
L-R: Nick, Ben, Chris, Jason |
We sang "Happy Birthday" to Ben, there was cake and food everywhere, and Chris Walla said he remembered meeting me some three years ago (unbelievable!) and tried to give me his tips on how to remember people's names (I'm awful at it, but he's great). At the end of the party, Jim and Liz and I went to another bar for a last drink. (Mmm, another delicious water for me.) Jim admitted that it was pretty nice to have a sober chauffeur. He told us that Britt Daniel recently moved to Portland, which has made it hard for Spoon to practice. Also their bass player is quitting, so they've been trying out new bass players — apparently it's hard to find the right guy. Jim said he'd guest-list me for the Saturday night show, so I figured, heck, why not go again. It was such a fun night (and I'm such a whore for guest lists)!
All three bands played better sets on Saturday night. I think they were looser and more warmed up. Kori from Mates of State said she thought they had a better set on Saturday, and everyone I talked to agreed that Spoon was really fantastic that evening. Spoon played a couple of new songs, one each night, and they were both good — I'm looking forward to the new record they're recording. Britt actually remembered my name, which was a huge surprise, as he doesn't remember anyone's name. Death Cab For Cutie played more of their older songs the second night, including "President of What." On both nights they also played their current hits, "Soul Meets Body" and "Crooked Teeth," as well as "Photobooth," a B-side from their Forbidden Love EP. They encored with Ben doing a solo "I Will Follow You Into the Dark," which had the entire audience singing along.
John Vanderslice and his cute French girlfriend were there, as well as my friends Alexi and Burton from the Botticellis. As a special backstage VIP bonus, Liz and I got to watch the show from the side of the stage (thanks, Chris, for escorting us), which was a really nice change from being in the crowd the night before. I'd only been to the Greek a couple of times before, and never backstage, so it was fun to see the other side of the venue. They set up a bar with an outdoor seating area with sofa and lamps right behind the stage; then there's a building to the side that you go into and downstairs to get to the dressing rooms. For some reason, Spoon had the smallest dressing room — maybe because Kori and Jason had their little girl (so cute!!) and nanny with them, and needed more space? There was one big multi-stall bathroom for everybody, which said "Women" on the door, but someone had posted a sign that said "CO-ED" on it.
Chris Walla vs. the piñata
photos by Elise Nordling
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At the end of the night, when I felt like the only sober person left in the area (aside from the crew, who were busy working their butts off), we heard someone say something about a piñata being smashed. Mr. Walla tried to clear an area, saying, "I'm a bit drunk and I don't want to kill anyone," attempted to put on a pair of black goggles (they weren't cooperating), and finally beat the crap out of a Chicken Little-shaped piñata until it rained candy. As we congratulated him on his excellent batsmanship, I noticed that he'd cut his face (with the goggles?), and he was surprised to find that he had. He told me later that it worried his mom, who was backstage with his dad (as were Ben's parents).
After lots of goodbye hugs and Chris doing a new station ID for me (and my batteries dying in the middle of him doing something more fun, doh!), Kim and I finally headed for home (Liz and Jim had left halfway through the Death Cab set). On our way out, we discovered that the driver of Death Cab's equipment truck had somehow gotten into a bit of a situation: Half the back wheels were off the ground, and the crew couldn't figure out how they were going to get it corrected. I hope it wasn't too difficult for them to figure it out.
As Kim weaved down the sidewalk to my car, I realized that maybe being sober for my cleanse wasn't such a bad thing. And after going to a show like that for free, watching bands I love from the side of the stage with my friends, drinking free drinks (ahem, water), and getting to use the nice bathrooms without a line, it's little wonder that I have so little interest in going back to paying for shows, being corralled in with the crowd, and paying $3 for a bottle of water or $7 for a beer.
Posted August 2006
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jeff commented, on September 9, 2006 at 7:33 p.m.:
Elise,
Great blog. I think I met you at the Bandwidth conference through someone from Pandora. Hope all is well.
J