Death Cab For Cutie @ Perth 17/02/12

February is an incredibly special time for the arts in Perth. So many fantastic international acts travel to our little city to put on beautiful little shows in great surrounds. Before the concert at Perth Festival Gardens, I said, ‘Tonight, I’m seeing one of my favourite bands from my formative years. Death Cab For Cutie tonight may turn out to be one of the best gigs of my entire life.’

The festival gardens were lit up with lanterns and fairy lights. It was all extremely quaint. My best friend and I were both very excited. As soon as they came out I was smiling, Ben saying, ‘Hey, we’re Death Cab For Cutie from Seattle, Washington’ in his Seattleese accent. It was one of the best musical performances I’ve ever witnessed. There was a lot to take in, especially in terms of the plethora of genres that are present in their technical compositions. By far the stand out being the track ‘I Will Possess Your Heart.’ They performed the song with such effortlessness.

Death Cab for Cutie is an American indie rock band. The band consists of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Chris Walla (guitar), Nicholas Harmer (bass), and Jason McGerr (drums). This is what I thought they were. Seeing them live has changed my mind. Chris is a musical mastermind; his smart production techniques shine through in his performance- playing bass, guitar, and piano, plus all these technical machines. Ben is the thoughtful one, and Nick is the dark horse. He reaffirmed my belief that he is one of the most intelligent and bright bassists around. The way he actually performs with his instrument is incredible. In person he strikes me as someone that should be in one of those teenage punk bands such as La Dispute. Punkies please don’t rage. He is shorter than the rest, with cute tattoos and in all black with some goofy cons. He is Beaut.

I was lucky enough to get the set list that night, thus, rendering it a lot easier to explain and tear apart each song with my rants of beaut intentions.

I was conversing with a couple behind me that said Lack of Color followed by I Will Possess Your Heart would be the encore. Their prediction was erroneous. The Seattle band of beaut walked out onto the stage and swung into Lack of Color as their first song. Followed by one of the most amazing musical experiences I’ve had to date – I Will Possess Your Heart. It was a hit on the radio, on the charts, amongst the alternative. Unmistakably, it’s an amazing song with each band member having a strong and distinct talent on show at some point in the 8-minute opus. This was exactly the case in the live version. The way they got into it, moving their legs and arms everywhere, my friend Leah and I knew we were in for something spectacularly beaut.

To follow, one of my favourite songs ever, Crooked Teeth came on. This song is practically the soundtrack of my time at High School. I absolutely adore the song. Then came ‘Live Here’, and ‘Photobooth’. ‘Doors Unlocked and Open’ was the first track that they performed from their new album ‘Codes and Keys’. This album, in my opinion is Chris Walla’s album. By just observing how hard he works on stage, swapping instruments, altering sounds, it’s clear that this is Chris’ opus. At first, I wasn’t sure how much DCFC themselves liked the album. I mean, its no Narrow Stairs, its no Plans. I think it’s got its own distinct spot in their discography, but I wasn’t sure how it would fair being performed live. DCFC delivered it very well.

Furthermore, I was pleased to see so many Narrow Stairs songs performed. I would have thought they’d be tired of them, but they enjoyed playing Long Division, Grapevine Fires, Possess Your Heart, Cath… I would have liked to see Bixby Canyon Bridge because that’s an old favourite, but I was more than happy with what they chose.

My friend said, ‘Benjamin Gibbard, the lead singer of Death Cab For Cutie, singing Soul Meets Body. He was half a meter away from me. I’ll never forget my perfect night’. During the technical difficulty of Soul Meets Body, the band really performed each song to the absolute maximum. They put their heart and soul into it, and I thoroughly enjoyed being in front of Benjamin Gibbard being able to witness such aptitude. The only way to describe the band on a whole is ‘tight’. I thought about it for the entire concert. Their sound was tight and meticulously precise. The way each member put so much energy into the music, really made me so delighted. Mid song there would be a second drum kit brought out for Ben, Nick would swap to guitar, Chris would swap to bass. All in one song, showcasing the very reason why they are my favourite band.

Fin.

Sarah Elizabeth Marshman