Death Cab For Cutie

Death Cab For Cutie are a band in my opinion that really can do no wrong and, quite possibly haven’t done since their first release in 1999 entitled “Something about plans”. Since then the band have churned out catchy and memorable songs in vast quantities, acquiring with them a loyal fan base and boasting a sold out UK tour earlier this year, which had been very much anticipated after their guest appearance on the OC.

Walking into London’s Brixton Academy, it was hard to deny that Death Cab are one of those bands which even your parents could like, with a little bit of exposure. The crowd ranged from youthful emos to OC wannabe’s to stoned hippys. Old and young, fashionable and grungy, eclectic and bland, the auditorium was filled to the edges with people eager to catch a glimpse of Ben Gibbard and his band.

Perhaps the phenomenal success of Death Cab is down to this one man. Ben Gibbard is the epitome of coyness. A shaggy odd looking sort of indie kid, Gibbard possess’ one of those voices that if they ever became valuable, his would be up there on ebay acclaiming the highest bid possible. He has the ability within his vocal chords to send you into a lazy trance and then moments later will wake up and make you pay attention. He is versatile in the widest of ways, and therefore has an exceedingly mysterious yet interesting aura surrounding him. Gibbard is known as a man who likes to keep himself to himself whilst expressing his thoughts through his music, and after the release of The Oc’s “a lack of colour”, is now a man that many girls want to take home and introduce to their Mother. If I could have battled my way to the front, I would have been a strong contender for the title of “Mrs Gibbard.”

One could then think that due to this ‘niceness’ that Ben Gibbard could be labelled as somewhat bland. He is not. He marched slowly but steadily over to his piano (centered stage right so the rest of the band could get exposure and move around freely), he bowed his head in a grand thankyou gesture and slowly played the opening chords to “There are different names for the same things” taken from the ‘Plans’ album. Instantly, the crowd went wild in that mellow kind of way, waving arms and lighters and squealing with excitement as the music got heavier and the song was lengthened to nearly 8 minutes with non vocal instrumentals. It was an absolutely brilliant way to kick off the gig, and a perfect introduction to what Death Cab are about for any new fan.

This was followed by a flawless set, consisting of old and new. “We laughed indoors”, “Soul meets body”, “Brothers on a hotel bed” and “What Sarah Said” provided us with a great mixture and then the rest of the band all cleared the stage whilst Gibbard took his position stage left with his acoustic, lit in a single spot light and delivered the beautifully solo “I will follow you into the dark.” “Crooked teeth” then got the crowd moving again, before “A movie script ending” was played in a pleasant surprise, with the set finishing on “Translaticisim.” Gibbard was the perfect gentlemen through out his set, constantly thanking his band, his crowd and all the support anyone had ever given him. With any other band, this may have proved annoying but because it was Gibbard, it felt sincere. I’ve never seen anyone move quite the way he does with his guitar, as well as playing the drums and piano, he really can’t falter in my opinion.

The encore came all too soon, “Marching bands of Manhattan” and finishing with the upbeat “Sound of settling.” No “Photobooth” but for such a diverse and exciting set, and leaving the crowd with such a thirst for more, this is one tiny little glitch that I am willing to look past.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.