John Krasinski plays with Ben Gibbard in DC

Today we have a guest blogger, Stephanie Flax (aka Flaxy), who along with Carlyn made me cry last night. Why? Because I got this text message from them:

From: Flaxy
Sent: 5/11/07, 12:03 AM
----------------------
OMG JIM FROM THE OFFICE IS AT THE 930 CLUB 30 FEET FROM ME - HOLY FUCKING SHIT!!!


Carlyn also left a voice message: "I had to call because John Krasinski is here with Ben Gibbard."

So it seems I missed my date with destiny, Death Cab, DC, and John Krasinski. Here's a post from Flaxy the super-fan:


John Krasinski, photo by Carlyn Madden via camera phone

I graduated from college a year ago, but based upon my current sleep schedule you'd think I was enjoying retirement. Therefore, it took quite a bit of energy for me to get up and go to the 9:30 club last night for the SECOND of two Johnathan Rice/Ben Gibbard shows. Despite the fact that I will promptly be crashing at my desk somewhere around 2:30 pm, my overall assessment is…

TOTALLY WORTH IT.

Thanks to some high school connections of mine, Carlyn and I were perfectly situated on the right side of the stage, 30 feet from the performers, and directly behind some drunk, obnoxious frat boys.

So here's how the night ran down…Johnathan Rice, an extremely pleasant performer, came out and played for about 30 minutes. He made sure to comment on, and shush (!) the frat boys, thus adding to his appeal.

Then Ben Gibbard appeared in all of his hipster glory. Carlyn comments that he resembles Dwight Shroot, which is ironic considering the episode of The Office entitled "Beach Day" had aired no more than a couple of hours prior to the show. Ben is an extremely talented fellow, and a definite crowd pleaser. For the 18-year old couple making out in front of us, he made sure to play "Soul Meets Body."

The 9:30 Club website said that we would also be witnessing an appearance from David Bazan (a la Pedro the Lion). You can then imagine our shock and (extremely pleasant) surprise when instead John Krasinski, aka Jim from The Office, appeared to joke around on stage with Ben!!!

While Carlyn and I were actively trying not to faint out of pure love for this man, he manages to sneak off to the upper-balcony area. This made it extremely difficult to focus on the remainder of the amazing Ben performance because we were too busy watching John's every move. I was trying to decipher his beer of choice (Stella Artois, Carlyn claims). However, Ben definitely wowed us, and scored major "coolness points" when he too commented on the rowdy audience.

The night was topped off when Carlyn approached Johnathan Rice, who was perched on a security stool right next to her. He then came over and chatted with the both of us and kind of awkwardly danced behind Carlyn.

All in all, I give last night a major gold star!

Well written, Flaxy. You can guest blog anytime. You and Carlyn both.

I miss DC,
CK

Chatting It Up: Arcade Fire, Spiderman, Ben Gibbard

I recently discovered that it is fun to repurpose IM/GChat conversations on blogs. Maybe not if you aren't involved in the chat. But observe this nine-person chat about The Arcade Fire show in Atlanta, and the one about how Evil Spider-man looks like Conor Oberst.

I'll continue this trend by posting a typical Caren-Carlyn conversation, saved from last week and now posted on the night of the Ben Gibbard concert in DC. Appropriate given the context. This is why we are our favorite GChatters.

Caren: I saw a guy with a hulk hogan-type mustache that rivals Brandon Flowers' as coolest
Carlyn: I love mustaches!
Caren: i know! u'd love this guy!
Carlyn: probably would, not too many mustaches in dc. which is sad
Carlyn: fyi - you know the black cat has hit it big when it's mentioned on GILMORE GIRLS
Caren: WHAT?!?
Carlyn: yes my friend. as i was watching gilmore girls last night (shh, don't tell paste)
Caren: we watch too. our editors LOVE it. and they're dudes. what was the context of it?
Carlyn: the husband of the asian chick is going on tour with a band named Vaporub, or something like that and they're going to hit NYC and DC, places like ___, the 9:30 club and the Black Cat. and sheelu and i were like... waaah?
Caren: hah! love it!


Death Cab for Cutie as legos

Carlyn: Dear Paste Magazine,
A friend and I scored tickets to Ben Gibbard's solo tour.
What are we supposed to expect?
Does he have his own songs he's going to sing? Is he breaking away from the two projects?
Am I going to have to put up with 14 year olds making out? Or do we hope they only know death cab, and not ben gibbard?
Caren: Dear Death Cab Cutie,
Ben Gibbard leads up The Postal Service side project, with Jenny Lewis. It is very techno and he may sing songs from that, including "Such Great Heights," which Iron & Wine made famous in Garden State
With David Bazan of Pedro the Lion opening, you have two lead singers on their own, so the likelihood of 14 year olds is slim to none. However, you may see other people making out, particularly when Gibbard sings "I'll Follow You Into the Dark."
Carlyn: good call
Caren: Enjoy, and who knows -- maybe you'll find a special someone to makeout with, too. Love, Paste Magazine
Carlyn: That was amazing
Caren: good. David Bazan is cool too
Carlyn: i love pedro the lion. i saw him in 2001. oh jesus
Caren: Johnathan Rice is also opening. he is A-MAZ-ING. born in the DC area, but grew up Scottish I think?
Carlyn: i don't know anything about him, so i'm excited to see him
Caren: he is actually dating Jenny Lewis i think
Carlyn: i thought you said jerry lewis, and i was like. whoa now.

Enjoy the concert tonight, Carlyn and Flaxy. I'm jealous.