Death Cab for Cutie @ Bank of America Pavilion 8.1.11

Despair.  That’s what I felt when Death Cab for Cutie’s June show at The Paradise sold out in 0.2 seconds.  Fast forward a couple weeks, and that despair was transformed into pure happiness as I purchased pretty decent seats for their August show at the Pavilion.  After waiting three months from when I bought tickets, I finally got to see one of my favorite bands perform live for the first time.

Opening band Frightened Rabbit, hailing from Scotland, were anything but frightened.  Commanding the stage, they delivered a set full of upbeat energy to get the crowd off their feet and amped for a night of awesome live music.  I hate to admit that I did not know who Frightened Rabbit was until two hours prior to the concert when I decided to go on YouTube to find some of their songs.  I randomly listened to ‘€œSwim Until You Can’t See Land’€ and ‘€œLiving In Colour,’€ which they played during their set.  Their live performance was superior to the studio versions of both songs.  If I had to compare Frightened Rabbit to another band, I’d say they were like Mumford and Sons, except with more electric guitar and not so much folk instrumentation.

After bidding the pleased crowd adieu, Frightened Rabbit left the stage and the entire crowd began clapping in sync, waiting for Death Cab.  And when they stepped out onto the dimly lit stage, playing one of the longest song intros I know to ‘€œI Will Possess Your Heart,’€ the crowd erupted into cheers of delight.  The stage illuminated into purple and red, revealing that it was decked out with large screens, which had different light effects throughout the show to complement the music.

As soon as Death Cab finished one song, they moved right into another, occasionally taking a breather between songs to ask the crowd how we were doing and thanking us for coming out to a ‘€œMonday night rock show.’€  Ben Gibbard and Chris Walla were constantly moving about the stage, playing a game of musical chairs.  At one point, Walla was sitting at the piano with his guitar in his lap, switching between playing the two instruments during a song.  The motion on stage kept me tuned in to the band and the music, rather than the people to the right of me who were carrying on a conversation.

Towards the middle of the show, the tempo slowed down a bit when ‘€œGrapevine Fires’€ was played with red streaks of ‘€œrain’€ falling behind the band on the light screens.  A couple songs later, Gibbard took the spotlight at center stage with his acoustic guitar for the crowd sing-along ‘€œI Will Follow You into the Dark.’€ The tempo picked up again as Gibbard traded his acoustic for an electric guitar to play the unforgettable riff of ‘€œYou Are A Tourist,’€ the first single off their new album Codes and Keys.

The last three songs of the set ignited a surge of passion for the music amongst the crowd and the band members. ’€œCath’€ which appears to be the favorite of everyone I ask, had the crowd singing along to Gibbard’s emotional vocals. ‘€œWe Looked like Giants’€ featured Gibbard on drums part way through.  He and Jason McGerr synchronized their pounding on the drums, which showcased how versatile the band members were.  ‘€œThe Sound of Settling’€ was played last and Death Cab for Cutie left the stage after thanking the crowd for the night.

But that was not the end of the show.  The crowd did not stop clapping and cheering until the band heard our sounds and settled for an encore.  The band could not stop smiling as they played ‘€œHome Is A Fire,’€ ‘€œExpo ’86′€ and ‘€œMarching Bands of Manhattan.’€  They were glad to be back in Boston, recalling the time in 1999 when they played at the Middle East for 30 people, and now they were playing for 5,000.  The show officially ended with Gibbard belting out ‘€œSo come on, come on’€ under dim blue lighting in the all-time favorite ‘€œTransatlanticism.’€

Death Cab for Cutie played a total of 23 songs, and the entire time, they all were genuinely happy to be there playing.  I’ve been to many concerts and this is my favorite to date.  Death Cab For Cutie is not only one of my favorite bands to go to on my iPod, they are now my favorite band to see because they sound amazing live and they radiate having a good time, which puts the concertgoer in a good mood.

For those curious to know what songs were played, given the vast amount of music the band has, I wrote down the set list during the show:

I Will Possess Your Heart
Crooked Teeth
Why You’d Want To Live Here
A Movie Script Ending
Doors Unlocked and Open
Long Division
Grapevine Fires
Codes and Keys
What Sarah Said
I Will Follow You Into The Dark
You Are A Tourist
The New Year
Underneath the Sycamore
Title and Registration
Soul Meets Body
Stay Young, Go Dancing
Cath’€¦
We Looked Like Giants
The Sound of Settling

Encore:

Home Is A Fire
Expo ‘€˜86
Marching Bands of Manhattan
Transatlanticism