Death Cab For Cutie, Bright Eyes – Live (May 24th, 2011)

A word to the wise: don’t go to a Bright Eyes and Death Cab For Cutie show when you’re jet lagged and exhausted. No matter how solid a performance they put on, by the end of the night you’ll be fighting to keep your eyes open. Or, at least, that’s what happened last Tuesday when the two made their way to Edmonton to kick off a short, three date tour together.

Walking in fifteen minutes into Bright Eyes set due to a disgustingly long line-up to get into the Shaw Conference Centre, the band was already well into their newest single Shell Game from The People’s Key. Front man Conor OBerst seemed to be channelling Jesse Lacey, sporting two hoodies and looking down towards the stage for the most part – flipping his hoodies on and off his head at random intervals. Unlike Lacey though, OBerst moved around the stage with energy, subdued energy but energy nonetheless, as he let his six-member backing band deal with the instrumentation and only picked up the guitar himself for half of the evening’s set. Vocally, Oberst was one of the most impressive live deliveries I’ve seen as he projected his studio quiver perfectly throughout the venue.

Their more energetic songs – Arc of Time – tended to make a bigger impact but their soulful tunes  – Old Soul Song (For The New World Order), Take It Easy (Love For Nothing), Poison Oak, One For Me One For You – were the real highlights. Despite their stage presence, the crowd never seemed to be truly engage; probably due, in part, to a stagnant light show that left the stage monotonously dark for the entire set.

The light show for Death Cab For Cutie, however, was the furthest thing from stagnant imaginable. With four massive walls of light behind them, Death Cab For Cutie – who played in a line straight across the stage without the drums in the background – were intensely illuminated with pulsating patterns that ebbed and flowed with their soulful music. Starting with I Will Posses Your Heart (with the extended introduction), the band played twenty-four tracks cumulating with Transatlanticism in their two hour long set. Their Plans selections (I Will Follow  You Into The Dark, Soul Meets Body) were the clear highlights but they mixed it up with some new tunes (Some Boys, Under The Sycamore, Codes and Keys, Portable Television and Doors Unlocked and Open) and old (from Movie Script Ending and The New Year to Cath… and Meet Me At The Equinox).

Gibbard’s voice was strong throughout and their whole sound had an added edge to it that doesn’t always play through on their records though. So whether they were playing the jangly You Are A Tourist or sparse, piano-focused What Sara Said, the band was in solid form, sounding stronger than their image makes them appear to be.

Still, as their two hour set wore on – my eyes began to droop. No matter how solid they sound or how many flashing lights they use, Death Cab For Cutie are still a laid back, easy-listening rock band and were unable to fully bring me out of my slumber – forcing me to go for a few laps around the venue to re-awaken my senses. Add on the fact that a two hour set is ideal for their biggest fan, but a little long for the casual listener, and my mind started to drift after a while.