Black Cats Show the Way

A row of black cats gazed down at us tonight, and that sight coupled with the two feline sculptures at the entrance made us wonder about the history of this enormous building:

It turns out that it used to be a cigarette factory. In fact, when Carreras opened the factory in 1928, the site boasted two world superlatives; it was the world's largest cigarette factory and the world's largest reinforced concrete building. Carreras's logo was a black cat, and the sculptures (restored after the originals were destroyed) fit this theme as well as the then fascination with all things Egyptian as a result of the recent discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb. The Carreras building wasn't tonight's destination, though; we were headed to nearby Koko for a free concert. Yes, free! Tonight's show was part of the iTunes London Festival, and with 28 shows taking place this month at Koko, there was practically something for everyone. The catch? You had to win tickets for entry. As soon as I found out about the festival, we entered a few of the draws, not really thinking we'd win tickets, but I shouldn't have been so pessimistic, because not only did we win tickets, but we won tickets to the show we wanted to see the most! Although tonight's openers, Das Pop, were lively and fun,

it was Death Cab for Cutie that we were here to see, and they put on a fantastic show full of hits and sleepers alike.

There were too many highlights to go into here (including a wonderful rendition of "I Will Follow You into the Dark" and the show-closing "Transatlanticism"), but if you're a Death Cab for Cutie fan, you can buy a recording of tonight's show (on iTunes, of course). Needless to say, we hummed our way back to the bus tonight . . . .