Video via YouTube user jasonteknut
Death Cab For Cutie aren’t exactly known as a fiery band, but that doesn’t mean frontman Ben Gibbard is immune to being ticked off. On Wednesday evening during the band’s show at Charleston, South Carolina’s Volvo Car Stadium, that became clear when Gibbard lost his cool and stormed off stage.
From video of the incident above, it’s not entirely evident what happened. In the middle of performing “Soul Meets Body”, Gibbard abruptly ripped his earpieces out, tossed aside his guitar, and attempted to keep singing. When the band lost the rhythm, though, he knocked down his mic stand and quickly walked off stage right (via Pitchfork).
Though the cause of Gibbard’s anger isn’t immediately clear, a Setlist.fm recap of the show points to “an audience member throwing things at him” as a possible cause. The video indeed shows something went down in the front row, as one audience member pointed out another and waved over security, who can be seen standing on the rail and engaging someone. Drummer Jason McGerr also stood up and pointed to someone in the same area, which caused the band to fall out of time and Gibbard to leave the stage.
Update: According to Consequence of Sound reader Liz (see comments below), the cause of the disturbance were a few rowdy, “drunken” fans in the first row. These “seriously obnoxious” few were apparently scream-singing along and trying to start a mosh pit. When other fans pushed back, the unruly group became even more disorderly and attempted to start a fight. Other attendees circled around them until security could pull them out of the show, but apparently the scuffle was enough of a distraction that Gibbard felt the need to take a breather.
The band would return to finish their set, albeit a shorter one than other recent tour stops. Still, the SC crowd did get a special treat, as Lauren Mayberry of openers CHVRCHES joined DCFC early in the show for a performance of “Brothers on a Hotel Bed”. You can watch video of that guest appearance below.
