speed of dark

On Thursday, Johnathan Rice and David Bazan opened for Ben Gibbard at the lovely Royce Hall at the University of California, Los Angeles. Neither of us were familiar with Johnathan Rice, and I didn't realize at first that David Bazan was the lead singer of Pedro the Lion, a band I like a lot but actually don't know much about. As soon as Bazan opened his mouth, however, I knew immediately who he was. Our pictures didn't come out so well - the hall monitors were out in full force and we had to be discreet. All of the live songs available below were from the May 19 DC 9:30 Club show (except the two songs recorded live from the show we attended at UCLA).

Johnathan Rice was a skinny young lad who hid behind his long blond hair, but interacted with the audience in such a sweet and endearing way that alt-gramma and I were instantly charmed. Since I am not familiar with his music, I did not get his set list, although he said that his first song was "about the good life in Los Angeles" and that his second song was "about the bad life in Los Angeles". The only song I am sure of is "We're All Stuck Out in the Desert" because he taught us the happy chorus and had us sing along. Upon returning home, however, I learned that Rice played Roy Orbison in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, and is currently dating indie bombshell Jenny Lewis, who made a special appearance during his set and again later in the evening.

johnathan rice: it couldn't be me [live acoustic]
johnathan rice: middle of the road [live acoustic]

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Next up was David Bazan, current lead singer of Headphones (with Frank Lenz, of Starflyer 59) and formerly the lead singer of Pedro the Lion, which broke up in early 2006. Bazan opened with an excellent cover of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and nearly brought down the house later in his set with a cover of Radiohead's "Let Down", which alt-gramma noted was almost as good as Radiohead themselves. I knew all of the PtL songs Bazan performed, and we picked up a copy of his Fewer Moving Parts EP, which will be re-released on Barsuk Records on May 22.

David Bazan Setlist:
1 hallelujah [cohen cover
2 cold beer and cigarrettes
3 shit talker
4 i do [PtL]
5 man in me [bob dylan cover]
6 of minor prophets and their prostitute wives [PtL]
7 fewer broken pieces [acoustic]
8 transcontinental [live acoustic] [PtL]
9 let down [live acoustic radiohead cover]
10 the longer i lay here [PtL]
11 bands with managers [live @ UCLA] [PtL]

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Ben Gibbard hit the stage just before 10:30 to thunderous applause. Most of his songs turned into huge sing-a-longs, even when he played more obscure songs that the casual listener probably wouldn't know. Gibbard was in fine form, bantering with the audience when people shouted out song requests and professions of love. The last time I saw him, at the Wiltern in 2005, he seemed tired and withdrawn; this time he was energetic and funny, engaging the audience and putting a great deal of power into his music. At the end of the night, he was joined by Jenny Lewis, Jimmy Tamborello, Bazan, and Rice on "Such Great Heights".

Ben Gibbard Setlist:
1 steadier footing
2 why you'd want to live here
3 we will become silhouettes [live acoustic] [postal service]
4 photobooth
5 title and registration
6 crooked teeth
7 you remind me of home [gibbard & andrew kenny]
8 this is the dream of evan and chan [postal service]
9 soul meets body
10 passenger seat [live] [possibly my fave]
11 up the junction [squeeze cover]
12 lack of color
13 405
14 your heart is an empty room
15 brand new colony [postal service]
16 i will follow you into the dark
ENCORE
17 sound of settling
18 blacking out the friction
19all apologies [live nirvana cover]
20 nothing better [postal service w/ jenny lewis]
21 such great heights [live @ UCLA] [postal service w/ jenny lewis, johnathan rice, jimmy tamborello, and david bazan]

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