Las Vegas
Fooding before the Death Cab for Cutie/Postal Service 20th Anniversary Tour of Transatlanticism/Give Up was some very disappointing biscuits from District Donuts, then a so-so lunch from Momofuku. Momofuku in Vegas in particular always seems a bit underachieving given what they charge; the lobster and shrimp dish was supposed to be like the classic Chinese honey walnut prawns but in reality was more like tempura?? Was still good but not what was advertised.
Dinner was at China Poblano, where their idea to use condensed milk as a dip for char shu bao is brilliant, but the eggplant was merely solid and the fried rice was just kind of okay, and was very much let down by poorly executed shrimp that we asked them to add. Aka since we were staying at Cosmopolitan, figured we should try as many restaurants in the food court as we could.
Trekked over to The Theatre at the Virgin Hotel, which is a pretty compact ~4,500 person venue. Messed up when booking, did not realize the seats were actually closer than the general admission areas, but still great to see Death Cab for Cutie performing Transatlanticism and to see Postal Service performing Give Up in such a small venue. Even toward the back of the GA standing we were still close enough to feel like we were in the same room (and we were!). Ben Gibbard and crew did an amazing job, and the encore with Iron and Wine's version of Such Great Heights was a great end to the show. The depth of emotion, especially in Transatlanticism, comes out much more strongly as it ages... and, well, Give Up has always been timeless, and an absolute experience, especially live.
The actual last song was Death Cab/Postal Service fully on stage covering Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode, which was quite unexpected!
Next day was pretty much straight to the airport, complete with some crappy airport bagels. Still great to find my concert buddies again for some of our favorite bands!