I couldn’t be more excited to see Death Cab at the same place I’m going to see REM. It just seems too much in one week to handle. It also seems crazy that Death Cab is actually playing in the same type of setting as a band that has been around for decades. The downside? Having Rogue Wave on the bill. blehhhh. To me, they are pretty much the most boring, inoffensive, vanilla band you could secure as your opening act. It seems like they’ll open for anyone, anytime.
So with the oppressive heat, I hit the 9:32 on the other side of the pavilion for a $9 beer to watch some people play Guitar Hero. Heading back into the pit at the end of the Rogue Wave set, I caught the end of “Lake Michigan,” you know, the one from the commercial. Luckily that was all I caught.
Death Cab hit the stage against a solid black backdrop with Bixby Canyon Bridge, one of the new tracks that has yet to stuck with me. It seemed like an odd opening choice, but then they went into The New Year and things righted themselves. The cover of Narrow Stairs plunged down as the backdrop and the lights hit. Next they pulled a track from my favorite album of theirs, The Photo Album: Why You’d Want to Live Here and a little later Move Script Ending made an appearance. For those who appreciate the older Death Cab more, we got Company Calls, Company Calls Epilogue and Photobooth.
The heat and humidity was pretty oppressive in the pit and it was especially smelly. Sweating like a whore in church (shhh, I’m Southern) Gibbard even kidded at one point it was going to be like a Gallagher show – except with sweat instead of flying fruit. Somehow I think the joke may have been lost on the majority of the crowd who happened to be in their teens. It was one of the brief moments of banter throughout their set.
Numerous times, the show turned into an adorable sing-a-long: especially during the hits from Plans, Soul Meets Body and I Will Follow You Into the Dark. People finally began standing in the seated area and couples were getting more lovey-dovey. It’s the kind of Death Cab show I’m used to, despite the size of the venue. I just wish it wouldn’t have taken so long. Also, the band just actually rocks on stage. There’s movement. Chris Walla juggles guitar, bass and keyboard parts Nick Harmer captures the center of the stage on bass and Jason, their drummer nails it all.
The encore was long and pretty much the best part of the show. Of the five song encore, all I wanted to hear was Tiny Vessels. We got it and Title and Registration as well as Transatlanticism as the closer. Perfection.
Of the more than 20 songs on the set list, only a handful were from the new album Cath, I Will Possess Your Heart, Long Division and No Sunlight. The band is always able to seize control of the stage and the audience with ease and hold their attention with the smattering of old and new.
But despite what I just said, one of the things that makes Death Cab so great is the seemingly intimate setting of their songs, their music. I couldn’t imagine catching them at Coachella or some place else as expansive and large. It’s hard to capture Ben Gibbard’s voice in such a large – and outdoor - venue. An amphitheatre-style setting like Merriweather doesn’t seem to really do him much justice. He’s best captured without all the pomp and circumstance – his solo tour was a perfect example of that. But the boys gave it a go, and as the band is now moving up in the concert venue circuit, I fear the next show gets bigger and Gibbard’s voice becomes lost even more.
But even if this happens, I know I’ll be there. I love Death Cab and pretty much anything Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla touch. I’m way too much of a fan girl.
