Like an alarm of impending doom

I could have expected too much from the Death Cab gig. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't awesome either, like how concerts ought to be. Despite a nice entrance (with chants and stuff), they didn't begin their set with strong tracks. (If i remember correctly they opened with Bixby Canyon Bridge) I think it was only after the third song that they addressed the audience properly. Ben Gibbard went something like "Hello Singapore. We're Death Cab For Cutie from Seattle, Washington," and everyone broke into applause and cheers. Can't remember what else was said but it wasn't anything memorable. At some point later he also announced that they had a new album called Narrow Stairs. I wished they would stop stating the obvious, and just be a bit funnier. He asked the people "Do you like love songs? Here's a love song, for you", before breaking into I Will Follow You Into The Dark. Have to say i found that kinda cheesy. What a nice, supportive crowd though, screaming and singing along. Some people were dancing, even to slow songs. They did not play Death Of An Interior Decorator, but included many other mandatory songs in their set, such as Title And Registration, The New Year (which i don't like), The Sound Of Settling, Expo '86, Tiny Vessels and Transatlanticism. They played quite a bit off Narrow Stairs. I Will Possess Your Heart was perfect showoff time for the bassist. They played Cath... No Sunlight and Long Division too. I especially enjoyed it when they played Grapevine Fires (my favourite track there). It was enjoyable enough, just that it lacked an element of surprise. Many times they played songs from the same album one after another, and Transatlanticism actually came right after Tiny Vessels, just like on the album. And their delivery was not very different from what you can hear on your ipod. Didn't feel it was worth paying $111 for. $58 would have felt just right.