Ben Gibbard Concert (with special guest!!)

Ben Gibbard has done a ton musically over the last ten years, even if only in the small indie world, and his musicianship has overlapped many genres and indeed bands--as frontman for both Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service.

He's been on a rare solo tour for the last two weeks or so, where he was able to combine these different music endeavors for some shows. Last Saturday he played at the Roseland in Portland, and though Jessica and I had bought tickets together months ago, it was Arielle and I that enjoyed it (for her first concert!).

He had two quality openers, Jonathan Rice and David Bazan. Jonathan Rice was a good songwriter I'd never heard before. He was playing a decent set, even though the bar was extremely loud and rude. Then, he was telling the crowd about how the tour bus was so empty with only three guys (no band at all, just an acoustic guitar for all plus a piano for Ben), so they've been picking up friends as they've gone. Last week they were in L.A., and they picked up...Jenny Lewis!

I just about had a heart attack. Jenny Lewis, for those unaware, is part of the band Rilo Kiley, and she also just put out a highly acclaimed solo album. She's also sung some for the Postal Service (keep reading for more...). She came out and they sang a song they'd written together. I can't tell you if it was a good song or not because I was just so excited she was there, and I was frantically calling Sarah as Arielle called Janelle.

Next, David Bazan played. He was formerly part of the group Pedro the Lion and made several great albums under that name. I hadn't heard his solo stuff, but it was good, and he played quite a bit of Pedro stuff too. He played a ton of songs, very long set, which I enjoyed because I'm a fan of his. Arielle on the other hand...haha

Ben Gibbard played an excellent set, a very long set. He played close to two hours at least, I think. He played so many Death Cab songs, digging way deep in the archive at times. He didn't play quite as many Postal Service songs, but those are all electronic, so they're much less conducive to a live setting.

At one point he said that he'd put one of his friends on the guest list, but he hadn't seen him there and wasn't surprised because his wife just had a baby that week. But, he'd play his song anyway, and he launched into the Shins' "So Says I." This concert has shown me how small the indie music world is--Ben Gibbard, Jenny Lewis, and James Mercer (Shins frontman mentioned above) are all buddies. Very cool.

He is a fantastic performer, and Ben really seemed to connect to the audience and enjoy himself. Maybe I just had Conor Oberst too fresh in my mind from the Bright Eyes concert a few weeks ago because he definitely doesn't relate to his fans very much...perhaps I'll share the story of that musical genius at a later date. I didn't think Ben was ever going to leave the stage because he seemed to be having so much fun, and it felt like he was playing just for me, it was such an intimate setting.

The encore was incredible. He played three songs, I believe, by himself, then he launched into the Postal Service's "Nothing Better," and I got super excited because I knew that Jenny Lewis sings a part in this song. He kept looking to the side of the stage with a smirk on his face, getting me more excited! She came out in time for her part, and I would propose that the show was worth $26 to see this song alone. Ben and Jenny are the original lineup for this song, and I doubt that it's ever been performed live with both of them before this. He said that they've been waiting for everything to be right to play it, and they were feeling it that night. I know that few people have even heard of these two people besides me, but I would venture to say that I witnessed a tiny bit of musical history here. Indie at least. I would like to think so...

For the finale, David Bazan and Jonathan Rice joined Ben and Jenny to sing "Such Great Heights." The blend of their voices was great.

This was a great experience of the essence of music since it was stripped down to only the melody, no percussion or bass or anything. Very unique opportunity, and worth much more than the cheap ticket price, as you could pay more to see Jenny Lewis, the surprise guest, alone.

Picture explanations: (I can't figure out how to put them in the order I want) the first one is the finale with all of the acts back on stage, the second is Jenny Lewis singing "Nothing Better," the third is David Bazan, and the final one is Ben Gibbard.