We Looked Like Giants

Anyone ever been to Camden, NJ? Anyone? Camden is the ghetto across the river from Philadelphia. Camden is the location of the Tweeter Center on the waterfront. Camden is hella scary.

Before we left for the concert, I wrote down the directions to the venue, knowing that it is not a place in which three white girls from Virginia need to be getting lost. The directions gave me two exit options. Inevitably, I chose the one under construction which caused me to head in a direction clearly opposite the waterfront. We are smart girls. We knew immediately that this was not correct. Afraid to make too many moves away from the road, I chose a quick side street on which to U-turn. As soon as I made the move, we saw a cop sitting in her car. (Actually, during our short trip to the wrong side of Camden, we saw approximately 6 cops...within about 6 blocks.) With Molly in the passenger seat, and Holly in the back, we decided to pull up and ask the cop for directions. Being that the cop was on Molly's side, she got to do the talking, which went something like this:

Molly: Hi. Do you know how we can get to...(looks at me) what's the name of the place we are going?

Me: The Tweeter Center.

Molly: (finishing her previous sentence) The Tweeter Center?

Cop: (Expectant chuckle which could be translated as "What else would these 3 white girls from Virginia be doing down here? Where else would they be going?") Hold on. (Finishes listening to her radio.)

Molly: Ok, thanks.

Cop: At this light, turn le...(starts to pull down a piece of paper from her visor, then stops)...just follow me.

Molly, Karyn, Holly: Thank you!

That's right, ladies and gentlemen, we had a police escort out of the ghetto and into the safety of the Tweeter Center. That is, if you consider a place in which homeless men are free to wander the gated parking lots safe.

The ghetto:


The police escort:


Behind the wheel in the ghetto:


The "safety" of the Tweeter parking lot:


Prior to the show, we had to check out the band merchandise and of course try on our new purchases in the bathroom (I later exchanged that blue Death Cab shirt for the same one Molly is wearing).





The Cribs opened the show... And that is about all I have to say about The Cribs.

Being that Franz Ferdinand and Death Cab for Cutie are co-headlining the tour, they take turns closing each show out. We were fortunate enough to attend a Death Cab closed show, so Franz was first up. To my surprise, the crowd was Death Cab centric, as many people sat during the Franz set. Sitting? During Franz Ferdinand? I did not understand it then nor do I now. Whether or not you know their stuff, how can you sit down during Franz Ferdinand?



I did not write down the setlist, so I am unsure of the order and all the songs that Franz played. However, included were Dark of the Matinee (click to download video clip), Take Me Out, Do You Want To, The Fallen, Jacqueline, Come on Home, This Fire, Michael, and others that I cannot recall. Before Michael (my favorite Franz song and the one which I am unable to post a video of because of my own (unseen but definitely heard) dancing like a beautiful dance whore), the lead singer mentioned that the last time they were in Philly, they were very new and playing a show with Papa Roach and Korn. After they played Michael, one of the guys from one of the other bands said to them, "Um, that song's about a dude." Franz Ferdinand is a truly good time.

But Death Cab, they have my heart.

The Death Cab setlist went as follows (click song titles for video clips):

Passenger Seat
Different Names
The New Year
We Laugh Indoors
Title and Registration
Crooked Teeth
Soul Meets Body
A Movie Script Ending
Company Calls
What Sarah Said
Expo '86
We Looked Like Giants
Sound of Settling

Encore:
I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Transatlanticism

During the set, I stood amazed at what I saw and heard. These guys have my undying respect. Even now (as cheesy as it sounds), I cannot put the experience into words. Ben Gibbard went from the guitar to the keyboard to the drums like it was no big deal, confirming that he has more talent in the hangnail on his right ring finger than I have in my entire body.





We Looked Like Giants was life-changing. Ben played an amazing drum solo which had us all so entranced, we did not think to video it (mine cuts out before he moves from the guitar to the drums). And who knew that Death Cab could play with so much energy? Absolutely unreal. During the encore, Ben came out and played I Will Follow You Into the Dark solo. I really urge you to check out all the videos and get a taste for how amazing it actually was. The only thing that could have made this concert better was if Brianna had been there. Concerts just aren't the same without her.

And a special update for those of you who made it to the end of this ginormous post - the reason people keep asking me if I am a dumb blonde who doesn't know how to kill herself: