I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: June 10, 2019] Death Cab for Cutie

It’s not often that you get to see a band twice on the same tour–eight months apart.

When I saw that Death Cab for Cutie were playing Starland Ballroom, at first I thought I didn’t want to go because we had seen them a few months earlier (and amazing show at the tower Theatre in Upper Darby).  Then I looked at some set lists and I saw that they were mixing things up a bit.  It was still a tour for the new album, but they were changing placement of songs and adding different ones.

I also didn’t realize until we got there that they had changed their lights how (for this performance at least).  Last time their lights were very tall–two layers of lighting rigs with a giant video screen behind and above them. This time there was no video screen and only one bank of lights.  Smaller club lighting maybe?  The keyboardist Zac Rae was actually between two light poles so we could see him whenever he didn’t lean too far forward.

I had hoped we could move from where we were on the side because I’d remembered the lighting was so cool.  From where we were, the lighting rigs blocked some of the stage (but only a little) and while the lighting was cool, it was much more subdued than last time.

It turns out the setlist wasn’t radically different from last time either.  They played four different songs than last time (and one fewer because I think one of the newer songs had a lengthy jam tacked in the middle).

They have been opening their shows with “I Dreamt We Spoke Again.”  The first six songs were the same, including my favorite “Title and Registration“, and the band sounded fantastic.  The sound in Tower was good too, but something about the proximity and the clubbiness (standing vs sitting) just seemed to make the songs sound even better.

We couldn’t see the performers all that well at the last show either.  We could see the lighting perfectly but the musicians were a bit obscured.  Despite the weird Starland purple lights, we could actually watch the band play, which was fun.  Dave Depper played some great guitar and switched to keyboard from time to time.  And drummer Jason McGerr played really loudly during the more intense moments.

Bassist Nick Harmer was awesome during some of DCFC’s bass-centric songs–his sound was phenomenal.   Like on “Crooked Teeth” which came next.

The first “new” song for us was “No Sunlight” a poppy song that’s just wonderful.  So glad they played it.  I have also really come  to love the new song “Autumn Love” with that nice guitar riff and the peculiar but catchy “oh oh oh oh oh.”

It was funny because after these six songs Sarah told me that she felt like the show might be almost over.  I felt the same way, like the show was really long (but not boring or dragging).  They’d already played nine or ten songs (which was the length of Jenny Lewis’ set).  But when I looked at my watch only 40 minutes had passed.  There would be a lot left!

A highlight of the previous show was when they played “I Will Possess Your Heart.”  Again, that bassline.  It was really exciting when they played it last time because we weren’t sure if they would.  And they played it for a long jam.  They did the same this time, but it wasn’t quite as impactful.  I’m sure in part because we were expecting it but also because we were off to the side.  Ben Gibbard played piano on this song and we couldn’t really see him. He had played piano for “What Sarah Said” as well, but this is more dramatic.  So we got to see Harmer play that phenomenal bass, but from where we were the front of the stage was empty.  So it kind of felt like it didn’t really start even after Ben added the piano notes.

Last time, they played a song from 2000’s We Have the Facts, this time they didn’t go any further back than Transatlanticism, which is fine since I like a lot of their newer stuff.  Even if someone did shout “Play Some Old Shit” which is maybe why they didn’t.

I loved the trio of songs they played next last time and I loved them again this time: “Black Sun” “Expo 86” and “Northern Lights.”  Then they switched out last show’s song from Codes and Keys (“Doors Unlocked and Open”) with “You Are a Tourist” (It was great to hear “when there’s a burning in your heart” (and–I had to look this up–“this…fire…grows…higher”) and Transatlanticism‘s “The Sound of Settling” with “We Looked Like Giants.”  I love “Settling” but it was fantastic to hear “Giants.”  This is a long moody song (“Remember the J.A.M.C. and reading aloud from magazines”) and they jammed it out even longer.   With the bass lines that the band writes, their jams sound great and they could easily stretch most of their songs out.

They ended the set with “Soul Meets Body,” and Ben raised his guitar over his head as the band walked off.

Last time they played four encore songs and I hoped they would do the same for us…which they did!

After a fairly short encore break, Ben Gibbard came back out with an acoustic guitar. The lighting was great and Ben started singing the opening to “I Will Follow You Into The Dark.”  At the last show the crowd respectfully sang along.  This crowd was much rowdier with loud singing, a few whoops (really?) and a guy who shouted Ben…you are very good at what you do.”  My wife works in education and said there’s always one kid who needs to have the attention on himself, and there he was.

Last time they played a new song.  Last time it was “Near/Far” but this time it was “When We Drive.”

They ended the night with two more songs from Transatlanticism (which was great).  The first, “Tiny Vessels,” a sad but lovely song (“she is beautiful, but she don’t mean a thing to me”) builds to a pretty big rocker in the middle.

Like last time, the ended the show with an absolutely stellar “Transatlanticism.”  This song ends that album and is about 8 minutes long.   It opens quietly on piano and vocals.  Then comes the beautiful guitar riff–two three note melodies and a big slow chord  that propels the song forward.

I have always liked this song because of that riff, but I never expected what they would do with this song.  Last time I was utterly blown away by how they transformed this song into an amazing set ender:  “getting fuller and fuller until was almost unbearable.  It felt like the walls might come down.  I still get chills thinking about it.  It was one of the best endings to a show I’ve ever seen.”

It takes about three minutes for the drums to begin–a slow steady rhythm which is joined by the bass.  Then Ben came from behind the piano and picked up his guitar.  The band began jamming the middle of the song–repeating that guitar riff and the lyrics “I need you so much closer.”

The song just keeps getting bigger and bigger and louder and louder.  They must have repeated that section for three or for minutes.

I came into this song wanting that same exact experience.  And sadly I did not get it.  Not because of the band but because of the circumstances.   last time we were in seats, facing the stage, watching the lights pulse with the sound in front and all around us.

This time we were of to the side, half the crowd had just left there was jostling and talking and it was a little hard to get into that moment again.

Having said that, but the time they got to the “so come on” part, the crowd had settled down and it was possible to get lost on the song for the last three minutes.

So, while this show lacked compared to the other one, there were also some big positives to seeing them again.  Most importantly, they sounded amazing and I’m really glad we went again.

 

June 10, 2019 Sayreville	October 8, 2019 Upper Darby
I Dreamt We Spoke Again ¥	I Dreamt We Spoke Again ¥
Summer Years ¥	Summer Years ¥
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive  ℘	The Ghosts of Beverly Drive  ℘
Long Division ⇑	Long Division ⇑
Title and Registration ™	Title and Registration ™
Gold Rush ¥	Gold Rush ¥
Crooked Teeth ¶	A Movie Script Ending ∏
No Sunlight ⇑	Crooked Teeth ¶
What Sarah Said ¶	What Sarah Said ¶
60 & Punk ¥	60 & Punk ¥
I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑	I Will Possess Your Heart ⇑
Autumn Love ¥	Title Track ϖ
Black Sun ℘	Autumn Love ¥
Expo 86 ™	Black Sun ℘
Northern Lights ¥	Expo 86 ™
You Are A Tourist ⊗	Northern Lights ¥
Cath… ⇑	Doors Unlocked and Open ⊗
We Looked Like Giants ™	Cath… ⇑
Soul Meets Body ¶	Soul Meets Body ¶
encore	The Sound of Settling ™
I Will Follow You Into The Dark ¶	encore
When We Drive ¥	I Will Follow You Into The Dark ¶
Tiny Vessels ™	Near / Far ¥
Transatlanticism ™	Tiny Vessels ™
	Transatlanticism ™

 

ϖ We Have the Facts And We’re Voting Yes (2000)
∏ The Photo Album (2001)
™ Transatlanticism (2003)
¶ Plans (2005)
⇑ Narrow Stairs (2008)
⊗ Codes and Keys (2011)
℘ Kintsugi (2015)
¥ Thank You for Today (2018)