A few things have changed since I last actively listened to Death Cab For Cutie circa 2007’s Narrow Stairs release: most notably, Ben Gibbard has lost his baby fat and glasses, and gained the babeliest of all indie chicks, Zooey Deschanel, as his wife. But regardless of the effect of any changes the band has gone through between now and that first 1998 album Something About Airplanes, Death Cab began their set at the Merriweather Post Pavilion Sunday night with “I Will Possess Your Heart,” and for the entire performance, they did.
The second song they played was “Crooked Teeth,” which begins with the line, “It was 100 degrees…” and that is exactly what it was; even as the sun went down, whether you were sitting, standing, or lying in the grass, every fan had sweat coming out of every pore. Once the song was over, the band’s jeans were so shiny and soaked in sweat that they looked like leather pants, and Gibbard commented, “I believe it just went from ‘hot’ to ‘balls hot’ out here.”
Audience members did not seem deterred by the weather, however, as the band continued to play classic songs “Marching Bands of Manhattan” and “Soul Meets Body”with four bright LED screens illuminating vibrant shapes and images behind them. In the past, I have often seen indie bands like Bright Eyes and Feist perform with projectors behind them, with a live projectionist actively moving real objects such as flower petals, buttons, tiny figurines, etc., across the display to highlight them behind the performers.
However, at this show, there were sharply colored light screens with dripping stars, bright diagonals, even a front seat of a car view for the playing of “Title and Registration.” This added an extra level of sophistication and Steve Jobs-esque ambience to the performance that brings a message: Death Cab For Cutie is the post-2000 indie godfather, and they don’t mess around.
The show was also peppered with performances from the band’s new record Codes and Keys, including a track of the same name and the single, “You Are a Tourist.” Some fans have given Death Cab flack for being tourists to their own music, often citing that the band has “lost touch” with their sound as far back as Transatlanticism. But while this new album is nothing groundbreaking, these are delightful, peppy songs, and I encourage everyone who hasn’t given Death Cab a thought for a few albums to consider another visitation.
I believe even older indie fans would have appreciated opening act Frightened Rabbit, as these sweaty Scotsmen charmed the audience with their accents and melancholy indie pop. Sort of Death Cab with an edge, Frightened Rabbit plays with a lilt that both past and present fans of lighter, more “typical” indie of the Death Cab-variety would enjoy. Fans were especially excited to hear “Keep Yourself Warm,” a song with the blunt lyric “You won’t find love in a hole/ it takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm.”
When Death Cab returned to the stage after their set to play their encore, more tried and true songs were performed, including my personal favorite, “The Sound of Settling.” But as far as I can tell, with over ten years of music under their belt, no one in this band is settling just yet.
Photos: David Nguyen
