 BEN KWELLER / DEATH CAB FOR CUITE
ROYAL OAK MUSIC THEATRE, ROYAL OAK MARCH 30, 2004  Not that Royal Oak ever has great parking, but with a
show like this in town forget it - what parking spots? Another all ages
show pays off, as hundreds were on hand to check out super emo kids
Death Cab for Cutie. Seems their last visit went well since the
majority of people were there to see them, including myself. Not
exactly the world’s most ‘get-up-and-party’ type of band, but they make
up for it in pure groove. Call it emo, power pop, whatever - Deathcab
rocks. Their set was made up of shoe gazing riffs on top of a steady backbeat right out of U2's Unforgettable Fire album. Death Cab for Cutie's lineup of Ben Gibbard (guitars, keyboards, vox), Nick Harmer (bass), Jason McGerr (drums), and 
Chris Walla (guitars, keyboards) made me feel as if 1988 never came and
went. I like that. If you get a chance DO check them out soon. Ben Kweller's set was initially hampered by technical difficulties, made light of by the band, but after about ten minutes they had it goin’. More poppy and upbeat than Deathcab, Kweller relies on inventive lyrics and a topnotch band. It will be interesting to see if Kweller continues into more mainstream rock. The addition of former Dashboard Confessional guitarist Mike Stroud seems like a step in the right direction. -- Christopher Chouinard  ©
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