Death Cab for Cutie Show
Last night was the Death Cab for Cutie show at Merriweather Post Pavilion. Despite the 100+ heat index, a few thousand people came out to enjoy the stylings of one of America’s biggest rock bands.
The show was opened by Rogue Wave, who I was looking forward to seeing. Though they only played for 30 minutes, Rogue Wave was tight and sounded great. The crowd applauded after each song, but it was obvious that the majority did not know Rogue Wave’s songs. The people were there for Death Cab.
Any time you see a band who is touring to promote a new album, you wonder if they are going to stick to their new songs, with maybe a smattering of previous hits thrown in. As you can see from the setlist below, Death Cab did an amazing job of working in songs from their entire catalogue. While not everyone knew some of the older songs, those who did were excited to hear them. Even though the set spanned the last decade, it flowed perfectly from song to song.
Overall, the show was great. The sound at Merriweather, at least in the pavilion, is amazing. On a few of the songs, especially the new ones, the band sounded enormous. I Will Possess Your Heart sounded like there were 6 or 7 people playing. It is a huge rock song. Here’s the full setlist, meticulously recorded during the show.
Setlist:
Bixby Canyon Bridge (Narrow Stairs)
The New Year (Transatlanticism)
Why You’d Want to Live Here (The Photo Album)
Photobooth (Forbidden Love EP)
Crooked Teeth (Plans)
Long Division (Narrow Stairs)
Grapevine Fires (Narrow Stairs)
A Movie Script Ending (The Photo Album)
Company Calls (We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes)
Company Calls Epilogue (We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes)
Soul Meets Body (Plans)
I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Plans)
I Will Possess Your Heart (Narrow Stairs)
Cath… (Narrow Stairs)
Pictures in an Exhibition (You Can Play These Songs with Chords)
The Sound of Settling (Transatlanticism)
Marching Bands of Manhattan (Plans)
Encore:
Your Bruise (Something About Airplanes)
Title and Registration (Transatlanticism)
No Sunlight (Narrow Stairs)
Tiny Vessels (Transatlanticism)
Transatlanticism (Transatlanticism)
There were a couple other things I noticed.
Ben Gibbard looks more like a rock star than he used to. He now:
1) has long hair
2) doesn’t wear glasses
3) wears all black
4) has big mutton chops
Come to think of it, he’s beginning to look more and more like Neil Young.
Also, Chris Walla dresses in business casual attire and was apparently wandering around Columbia mall on Sunday, and ate a “marginal” sandwich at Panera. I wonder if anyone recognized him.
The show was a lot of fun and a great time. Thanks to Amy for going with me on such short notice.
