Death Cab at the Mann in Philadelphia 6/12
Filed Under: concert reviews, live
Summer concert season is in full swing and I had sweet front row seats to Death Cab in Philadelphia last night as they tour to promote Narrow Stairs. The knock on Death Cab is that they produce great albums but are pretty bland live. This was my first time at a Death Cab concert so I’m not sure if it was a) self fulfilling prophecy; b) front row seats (not GA pit) removes you from the whole concert experience; c) they are in fact bland live; or d) a combination of the above — but yes, they aren’t spectacular live.
Anyone who has ever been to concerts know that they can span the spectrum from mind-blowing (Radiohead at the Greek in 2006) to a complete waste of time (Van Halen with Gary Cherone at the Concord Pavilion in 1999 — don’t ask). Last night’s Death Cab show fell squarely in the middle. I doubt I’ll remember much about the concert when I’m old and gray and telling my grandkids how much their music sucks and how, in my day… blah blah blah.
It’s not to say that they were bad — the show was enjoyable and the setlist gave long time fans a lot to be thankful for (Ending the night with Transatlanticism was a great touch.) but at no point did they bring down the house. Outside of a great acoustic solo performance (with crowd singalong) of I Will Follow You Into the Dark did you ever think, “man, this is great.”
Well, that’s my take on it. If you were there and thought differently, go ahead and chime in. Here’s the setlist:
- Bixby Canyon Bridge
- The New Year
- Why You’d Want to Live Here
- Photobooth
- Crooked teeth
- Long Division
- Grapevine Fires
- A Movie Script Ending
- Company Calls
- Title Track
- Soul Meets Body
- I Will Follow You Into the Dark
- I Will Possess Your Heart
- Cath…
- The Sound We Laugh Indoors
- The Sound of Settling
- Marching Bands of Manhattan
- — encore –
- Title & registration
- No Sunlight
- 405
- Transatlantcism
stevemc | Jun 13, 2008 | Reply
Well Vin - I think I enjoyed it more than you. One thing from the front row is that you don’t feel the crowd as much. I only got a tad bit more appreciation peering over the 8 rows I had in front of me but I thought it was a real strong showing. “Cath” is my favorite song on the new album and it was also tops for me live.
You are correct - they don’t bring down the house but they are more polished now than when I saw them previously. Good, not great, show
jeff | Jun 13, 2008 | Reply
I was a few rows back from you guys, row J on the left side. Had a perfect view of Ben from where we were.
I have to disagree with you guys a bit. Having seen Death Cab 6 times previously, last night was the best I have ever heard them sound. Blew away the performance from the Plans tour (which was the worst I’d ever heard them sound).
I found last night’s show to be extremely spirited. The sound was by far the best Death Cab’s ever had in my experiences.. the mixes sounded good and the vocals didn’t get drowned out for the most part as they usually tend to do. And the set list was fantastic. The only song I could have done without was “We Laugh Indoors”.. never was too fond of that one, but with everything else that got played, I was far from disappointed!
Steve, I agree with you about Cath, best song on the record. Followed by Long Division and No Sunlight for me.
stevemc | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
Vin- I read up on the DCFC site and the track you can’t name is “Title Track”. I wasn’t aware but fans on the site were going nuts because it’s the first time they’ve played the song live in about 4 years.
Vin | Jun 14, 2008 | Reply
Thanks steve. I’ll update the blog entry.
I actually have that album too but hardly ever listen to it. (I must not be a real fan.) I didn’t think the song was very good.