popwreckoning

The Script used to be my guiltiest pleasure: when you’re a female music blogger, you get a lot of sniggering from boys in bands when they hear you’re seeing any act that is manufactured, whether real or perceived. But I’ve seen the Dublin band twice now, and I can say without a doubt that they have the goods and they bring the goods live, so the argument that they’re manufactured holds no water. I’d also like to point out that singer/piano man Danny O’Donoghue has the kind of smile that could melt a million hearts, but I digress…

The importance of a good opening band cannot be stressed enough: when they’re good, they psych up the audience, setting the stage for the rest of a great evening; but if they’re bad, it can leave a bad taste in your mouth. (The latter was true when I saw Abe Vigoda open for Vampire Weekend in April 2010 at the same venue, DAR Constitution Hall.) As I predicted, opener Hot Chelle Rae was an immediate hit with the MTV teeny crowd right from the start. The high-pitched screams as the band took to the stage nearly rivalled the headliner’s entrance later.

There’s nothing objectionable about Hot Chelle Rae: the Nashville band look like they’re trying to be really “rock” (their bass player Ian Keaggy has tattoos up and down both of his arms) but they come out sounding like lite mainstream rock. Their music has a good, infectious beat and the band members appeal to what my companion for the night refers to as “the Disney crowd.” (Not far off: think about it. They’re signed to Jive, aka the first label home of Backstreet Boys and still Britney Spears‘ label.) While their set was short (only 7 songs), it looked like the predominantly female and underage crowd would have been up for much more.

Hot Chelle Rae Set List
Beautiful Things
I Like to Dance
Alright
The Distance
Bleed
Teenage Dream
Tonight, Tonight

It’s interesting attending a show filled with teenagers. None of them can drink of course, so the line for the bar is short or nonexistent, and because they can’t drink, they’re all trying to look cool by milling about near the merch table. But once they’re seated and the show starts, something magical happens. I won’t show my age by revealing when I saw my first show, but watching all those girls in their micromini summer dresses jostling each other to take photos of the bands and fighting each other for guitar picks was, shall we say, rather heartwarming to me. And if you have to choose a band for your first gig, I don’t think you can do much better than the Script in a nonthreatening, huge venue like Constitution Hall that can support a spectacular light show featuring flashing lights, interactive backdrops, and live zoom-in shots of the Script (primarily for the benefit of those unfortunate souls up in the nosebleed sections).

This Dublin band is both disarming and incredibly charming. They sneaked their way into everyone’s heart by being apologetic for their June gig cancellation due to illness. They told stories about whiskey and getting drunk and let’s face it, these kinds of stories go down better when told by Irishmen. They complained about the DC heat and said they wanted to move here so they could work on their tans. To say they had the audience eating out of their hand is an understatement. Still, it was the music that wowed the most.

“Nothing” is probably one of the saddest pop songs ever written; it’s the musical equivalent to drinking yourself to death after getting dumped. I had to pat myself on the back for not crying when this song came on. If guitarist Mark Sheehan is to be believed, it was written after a night of boozing when O’Donoghue’s heart got broken and he made an ill-advised cell phone call to his ex. The only weird part about the live performance of this song is that O’Donoghue had the biggest of grins on his face while he was singing it. I guess life as the frontman of one of the biggest bands in Europe (and now the world) isn’t too bad.

Of similar topic and with a decidedly more lighthearted bent, “If You Ever Come Back” was a definite highlight of the night, as everyone’s arms were raised and waving in time to O’Donoghue’s own. “Rusty Halo,” with its r&b groove and aggressively red lighting, segued effortlessly into the song that finally broke them here in the States, “Breakeven.” I wasn’t sure how the band could top that when they returned for the encore but a similar singalong broke out for the closer, “For the First Time.” My only complaint: the set list was far too short. Maybe they were trying to follow the DC curfew laws and make sure all those kiddikins could leave the place on time? All in all though, it was a superb night of much and atmosphere, ending on a high note.

The Script Set List
You Won’t Feel a Thing
Talk You Down
We Cry
The Man Who Can’t Be Moved
If You Ever Come Back
Before the Worst
The End Where I Begin
Science & Faith
Nothing
Dead Man Walking
Rusty Halo
Breakeven
//
This = Love
For the First Time

Tour Dates
Sept 04 – Stage AE / Pittsburgh
Sept 06 – LC Pavilion / Columbus
Sept 07 – Fillmore Detroit / Detroit
Sept 09 – Ryman Auditorium / Nashville, TN
Sept 10 – PNC Pavilion @ Riverbend Music Center / Cincinnati
Sept 11 – Murat Theatre / Indianapolis
Sept 13 – Palace Theatre / Louisville
Sept 14 – Pageant / St. Louis
Sept 16 – Hartman Arena / Park City, KS
Sept 17 – Table Athletic Center @ Carthage College / Kenosha, WI
Sept 18 – Ogden Theatre / Denver
Sept 20 – Crystal Ballroom / Portland
Sept 21 – Paramount Theatre / Seattle
Sept 23 – Fox Theatre / Oakland
Sept 24 – Palladium / Los Angeles, CA
Sept 25 – Marquee / Tempe
Sept 27 – Riverwind Casino / Oklahoma City
Sept 28 – Coins Ballroom / Tulsa
Sept 30 – Stubbs Waller Creek Ampitheatre / Austin, TX
Oct 01 – House of Blues / Houston
Oct 02 – Palladium / Dallas
Oct 04 – Mahalia Jackson Theatre / New Orleans
Oct 05 – Ruth Eckerd Hall / Clearwater, FL
Oct 07 – Fillmore Miami Beach / Miami
Oct 08 – Hard Rock Live / Orlando
Oct 09 – Tabernacle / Atlanta
Oct 11 – Fillmore Charlotte / Charlotte
Oct 13 – Roseland Ballroom / New York City
Oct 14 – Paramount Theatre / Huntington, NY
Oct 15 – MGM Grant Theatre at Foxwoods / Mashantucket, CT

The Script: website | myspace | The Script – “Breakeven” | Science & Faith review
Hot Chelle Rae: website | myspace

Death Cab for Cutie‘s frontman Ben Gibbard seems to be all over the  music news outlets these days. First the guy gets attention for his marriage to Zooey Deschanel. Now his band’s getting attention for being  the lead single for the popular “Twilight” series’ next movie “New Moon.” I think his name constantly coming up in half the headlines on my Google Reader was a sign that he needed to be featured on PopWreckoning as well and what better place to feature somebody so in the spotlight than by putting that person under cover?

Give Gibbard a guitar and put him alone on a stage and inevitably the guy slips into some sort of cover song. No matter the original quality of the song, he’ll cover it. Indie or pop, he’s done it all. I’m actually really surprised there hasn’t been a Death Cab cover album yet.

So for this week I bring you the best (or maybe the worst if you don’t have a sense of humor) of Ben Gibbard’s cover songs. He’s done a ton, so look for this to be a multi-parter.

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.Backstreet Boys – “I Want It That Way” (original, 1998)
.“I Want It That Way” (cover, 2001)

Bellingham, WA. If I could go back in time to any show, it would be this tiny show at the 5th Floor Coffeehouse in January 2001 in Bellingham. Gibbard’s local, so it was intimate with family and friends. This was also his first public solo show since Death Cab formed four years prior. The atmosphere was already special. So when Gibbard acts all serious and hypes up this little cover he is about to whip out, it was like the icing on the cake for an already perfect show. A big breath…the anticipation builds…”You are – my fire.” Laughter. Backstreet Boys was not expected, but like I said, this show was a special occasion. This cover isn’t mind-blowing. Gibbard is pitchy in spots. And it is just downright silly that he is playing it off as this great masterpiece of a song that he is covering as a simple acoustic piece. Yet that is the genius of so many of Gibbard’s covers. Musically, they’re nothing too complicated, but he brings such a fun performance to his versions, that they really are treats.

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.Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (original, 1984)
.“Thriller” (cover, 2007)

Gibbard covered this song  at Theater of the Living Arts and I was unsure about including it on here. Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” sounds nothing like this and yet that is exactly what won me over to this cover. Gone are the glossy synth notes that cue Jackson’s “Thriller” so well that you know what it is within two notes before it hits that lovely rolling bass.  Gibbard’s version is definitely that signature Death Cab indie folk sound. He’s managed to strip the Jackson hit into a simple strummed guitar tune. I also am a dork and I think it is hilarious that Gibbard had to read the lyrics off a piece of paper for this and still forgets lines midway through. I find it part of his charm.

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.Avril LaVigne – “Complicated” (original, 2002)
.“Complicated” (cover, 2008)

I’m pretty sure I wanted to shoot myself whenever Avril’s “Complicated” came on the radio in 2002. Her voice was just so nasally and her idea of punk was just so…pop. Not too mention she had that ridiculous intro, “Uh huh. Life’s like this.” Gag me. I guess you could say she was acting on her lyric: “trying to be cool, but looked like a fool.” Then Gibbard comes along and nearly six years later and turns it into a slow, folky number. About 50 seconds in, Gibbard starts chuckling and says, “This is a serious song.” I’m not sure if he is telling that to the audience or a reminder to himself, but either way, it is his personality that makes this song worth the listen. Heck as much as I love his music, the best part is the end when he gives a little commentary on the song, “It’s pretty cut and dry. Complicated? What the hell are you talking about? I like to dress in different clothes.” Aw, Ben. This is why we love you.

Death Cab for Cutie: website | myspace