Death Cab for Cutie plays it safe

Bellingham, Washington’s, Death Cab for Cutie, made a stop by First Avenue on Saturday, May 21st, 2011.  The popular indie rockers were on tour to support the May 31st release of  Codes and Keys, their first new full length album since 2008’s Narrow Stairs.  A strict two ticket limit, and will-call-only sales to deter ticket scalping, didn’t stop this show from selling out in a mere few hours.  And overall, the mostly suburbanite crowd was attentive and respectful as the band hammered through their set.

The Lonely Forest opened the show with vibrant energy.  Death Cab’s guitarist, Chris Walla, produced the band’s debut album, Arrows, and that sound was evident in the band’s set.  The band was very grateful to be on First Avenue’s stage, and they displayed that gratitude by enthusiastically playing a rocking set that was hard to forget.

When Death Cab for Cutie took the stage as shadows beneath barely lit lights, the capacity crowd roared with anticipation.  The band started their set off with “I Will Possess Your Heart” as the legendary stage slowly lit up with the dynamics of the song.  They then played through all of their radio singles and worked in songs from Codes and Keys along the way.  I was most impressed with their first encore, “Home is a Fire” which is the opening track on Codes and Keys.  The song was a slow builder led by piano and bass,  darkly jumping around with singer Ben Gibbard, starting  the song with “sleep with the lights on, shutter the shades drawn, there’s too many windows“.

Overall though, Death Cab for Cutie played so spot on to their albums that when I closed my eyes, I could have just as well been listening to their albums at home with the headphones on.  Thankfully the light show was fantastic enough to keep my eyes open most of the time.  Singer, Ben Gibbard, called out First Avenue and their staff as being one of the best in the country; rightfully drawing a large applause.  But much of the rest of his banter seemed to be as routine as their set was.  Although they played tight with eternal professionalism, I felt the music lacked the big energy that comes with taking chances.

You can form your own opinion when the band returns to the Twin Cities on August 26th, 2011, with a stop at Roy Wilkins Auditorium in St. Paul.  Frightened Rabbit will be opening that show.

Photos taken for music blog, Reviler.  Check it out!

Death Cab for Cutie

Death Cab for Cutie – First Avenue – May 21st, 2011 Setlist:
I Will Possess Your Heart
The New Year
Why You’d Want to Live Here
A Movie Script Ending
Some Boys
Doors Unlocked and Open
Photobooth
Long Division
Grapevine Fires
Codes and Keys
What Sarah Said
I Will Follow You into the Dark
You Are a Tourist
Underneath The Sycamore
Meet Me on the Equinox
Company Calls
Soul Meets Body
Cath…
Crooked Teeth
The Sound of Settling
ENCORE:
Home Is a Fire
Title and Registration
Transatlanticism

The Lonely Forest