Day 3: Austin, TX
Welcome
Yesterday we played the first show of our run supporting Deathcab for Cutie and The Postal Service.
The glum atrium of the Hilton had transformed into an indoor garden paradise with the arrival of another clear morning in Austin, Texas. Instead of sticking around to enjoy this airport eden I gathered my three companions Tess Tristan, and Gabe and set out in the van, heading into the city in search of a breakfast. We arrived at Terry Blacks at 11.30am and it was already humming, the Saturday morning breakfast BBQ crowd enthusiastically waiting in the queue for their chance to gorge on slowly cooked meats.
The atmosphere in there was overwhelming, and I was glad when Tristan took charge, confidently ordering us a selection of sides and then garnishing our tray with slabs of freshly sliced BBQ. We headed outside to a table and began serving ourselves a breakfast. I plated up a meal of green beans, coleslaw, potato salad, brisket, jalapeno cheese sausage, pork ribs, and beef rib.
Gabe had arrived in Austin late the previous evening, freshly wedded, and it was wonderful getting to catch up and hear about the events of the last couple of weeks. He was wearing the warm glow of a man deeply in love that radiated around the courtyard of the restaurant forcing other diners to shield their eyes and even distracting the cars driving past on the nearby street.
We ate our exceptionally heavy breakfasts and headed back to the hotel to pick up Liz and Jon and then headed out the Germania Insurance Amphitheatre, located southeast of Austin, in the middle of a large racetrack. As we pulled into the gate of this venue, we could already hear the broom of fast racing cars and see the odd vehicle flashing past behind the tall, wire fences that lined the edges of the track. The amphitheatre is a huge site in itself; a 14,000-capacity venue that is nestled in between turns 15, 16, 17, and 18 of the racetrack. A rather striking observation tower looms above the stage and provides a glorious view of the entire course and the surrounding lands.
The view from the observation tower looking down at the Germania Insurance Amphitheatre.
The first member of Deathcab for Cutie we reunited with was guitarist Dave Depper who was looking tanned and extremely handsome, a flowing mane of silver hair tied up in a ponytail and muscular runners legs emerging from a well-fitting pair of navy shorts. Dave took us up the tower and we enjoyed a thorough catch-up while watching the tiny cars speed around the track below. It has been a busy year for Deathcab, with their album release tours earlier in the year flowing straight into rehearsals for this current tour, which they are already four weeks into. We caught up with the other band members later in the afternoon, Ben, Zak, Jason, and Nick, all who had been having a great time playing this unique run of shows.
It was still extremely hot at 5pm when it was our turn to head out for soundcheck. The sun was coming straight in at the stage and I tried to rotate myself every few minutes so I would get evenly tanned on both sides of my face. We sweated our way through an hour of playing and tweaking and at the end we had a very nice sounding stage on our hands, and Gabe was feeling great about the sounds coming from the PA.
Liz cools down after soundcheck.
Thankfully the sun had gone down when we headed out to play our set a couple of hours later. The venue was pleasantly full already and there were still swarms of people streaming in through the gates. Thirty minutes of power was our brief and we did our best to deliver this to a buzzing Austin crowd. Seven songs, carefully chosen for their tempo, key, and energy level, were performed competently and vigorously and we were warmly received by the assembly of music fans.
As great as it was to play our own music the real treat was getting to watch two albums being performed in their entirety. First Deathcab for Cutie’s 2003 seminal release Transatlantacism, and then The Postal Service’s 2003 release Give Up, another iconic record that shaped the ears of a generation of listeners. The bands both sounded immaculate and the production was impeccable. Around us the crowd went wild as some of their all-time favourite songs were performed by this incredible assembly of musicians.
Deathcab for Cutie (wearing black clothes).
The Postal Service (wearing white clothes).