Postal Service at Berkeley: October 2023: Day 1

Berkeley

October 2023: Day 1: Greek Theatre

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month at LAX.

Dancers and a band.

Night Market, not far from SFO.

Tripe was kind of plain at first bite.

Let it soak for a bit tho, and both the tripe and the bean sprouts tasted much better.

BBQ pork and roast pork. Roast pork no longer as crispy as it used to be.

Pork intestine was nom.

Pearl went for the classic Hong Kong style chow mein. Yum!

Bathroom #1 inside this 2 bedroom suite at the Residence Inn.

Bedroom #1 inside this 2 bedroom suite at the Residence Inn.

Living area and kitchenette.

Bathroom #2 inside this 2 bedroom suite at the Residence Inn.

View of the UC Berkeley campus.

30 minutes before showtime at the Greek Theatre at UC Berkeley.

The opening act, The Beths.

Just before the main act, now packed.

Death Cab for Cutie.

Bright lights.

Postal Service.

Jammin'. Not as tight a performance as the Las Vegas show.

8,500 of their biggest fans packed the house.

So many colors.

Still small enough a venue to feel intimate.

Ben jammed all over the stage.

A rainbow of lights as they prepare to wrap up.

Krispy Krunchy Chicken's fried chicken and fried swai. It's... sort of edible.

Celebrating Hispanic Heritage month at LAX before the quick flight up to the Bay Area, then lunch at one of Pearl's old lunch spots, Night Market. Night Market is kind of like a Hong Kong-ese street cafe spot, with a pretty good variety but still maybe less than you'd see from a real authentic cha chaan teng in Hong Kong. Food overall hit the spot even if it fails to actually be memorable-- the sleepy bit of South San Francisco it occupies seems entirely fitting.

Quick stop at the Residence Inn by UC Berkeley to check out the ridiculous upgrade they gave me, then off to the Greek Theatre at other side of UC Berkeley's campus for the real reason for the trip: the 20th anniversary tour of Death Cab for Cutie's Transatlanticism and Postal Services' Give Up. Opener was The Beths, who were surpriisngly decent, yet the crowd really came out in force after The Beths left and Death Cab were about to take the stage.

The nights' performance was less polished than the Las Vegas show last week, with a few songs with one or more musicians that seemed a half-beat off. But the 8,500 packed into the Greek Theatre didn't seem to care, the venue remained surprisingly intimate despite being nearly twice the size of the Vegas show, and Death Cab seemed fully into the crowd. Wrapping up Transatlanticism is always emotional, and after the intermission, Ben and Jimmy did their full thing as Postal Service. As the bigger hit, Postal Service's lone album, Give Up remains one of the greats of all time for that era, with the blend of vocals, lyrics, actual instruments, and synths in seemingly perfect harmony. Jenny Wood reprised her appearance as the female half of the duet for Nothing Better, while Jenny Lewis remained strong in her own vocals for more than half the songs on Give Up just like on the album.

The setlist, including encore, remained exactly the same as the Vegas show, with Iron and Wine's acoustic remix of Such Great Heights remaining beautiful as always, and a cover of Depeche Mode's Enjoy the Silence being a bit odd yet very fitting.

Given that Night Market was the late lunch/no dinner, had a midnight snack at Krispy Krunchy Chicken. Pearl's statement it was gas station quality fried chicken and fish was spot on. t'was good to catch up with Pearl again even if we'd just seen each other last week!