Concert Surprises

I saw two concerts this weekend, and both provided delightful surprises.

I went with two friends on Saturday to see Cold War Kids, whose set was opened by a female pop duo called Overcoats I’d never heard. They were GOOD. And they showed up onstage with the headliners a few times to great effect.

Then Meredith scored tickets for us to see Ben Gibbard on Sunday night. We’re Death Cab for Cutie fans from way back, but neither of us knew what to expect from a Gibbard solo show. There was plenty of material we’d never heard, all played on a stripped-down stage with only an upright piano and a guitar. But there were also some Death Cab standards, a couple of Postal Service callbacks, and a truly arresting moment in which Gibbard announced that he was going to play a song by someone who is no longer with us in order to keep him alive. The theater fell silent for a moment and remained hushed as he played a melancholy cover of a Frightened Rabbit song that should not move one to cry, but . . .

I collect music, creating lists that can be experienced the same way over and over again. Concerts remind me of music’s power to surprise. More concerts please.