Playing to a packed audience on Monday, Death Cab for Cutie, wowed with a setlist that spanned their debut album (“President of What”) to EP releases (“Photobooth”) to their latest stable of hits off of Plans. While the spread was consistently solid, if a just bit rushed at times, the selections off of Plans and final indie release Transatlanticism simply seemed a cut above those from the band’s early days and appeared even more polished than the last time Death Cab stopped at D.C.
The songs off Plans take the themes of love and distance, both physical and emotional, from Transatlanticism and drag the listener even deeper into them. The love in the songs is warmer, the characters closer and the loss more brutal. The added investment amplifies frontman Ben Gibbard’s poetic lyrics, particularly the haunting question of “So who’s going to watch you die?” delivered repeatedly at the end of poppy piano ballad “What Sarah Said.”
Hallmarks like that, as well as “I Will Follow You into the Dark” and the Chris Walla-penned “Brothers on a Hotel Bed,” dotted the set Monday as visceral compliments to the breezier (but no less enjoyable) favorites like “Expo ’86” and closer “The Sound of Settling.”
The band seemed more energized than in their previous engagement at D.A.R. last spring when paired with Franz Ferdinand. Perhaps that derived from Death Cab’s more defined status as the main event of the night, with Ted Leo + Pharmacists opening this engagement. Despite Death Cab’s energy, particularly on “The New Year” and encore number “Marching Bands of Manhattan,” it was seldom shared by the crowd, roughly half of which remained seated throughout the concert. It was no comment on the band’s performance, as evidenced by the roaring post-song cheers and applause. Instead Death Cab again felt the stifling effects of D.A.R. Constitution Hall, a venue more befitting of off-Broadway musicals and “Wheel of Fortune” tapings than rock concerts. After the show, one concertgoer milling about the men’s room noted: “I felt like I was in church.”
To be certain, the gentleman was speaking about the environment, but the remark also could have served as a compliment to the band, given their spirited delivery of encore finale “Transatlanticism.”
The closing number served as a terrific reminder as to what makes Death Cab for Cutie so enjoyable, and has the band on the rise: finely-crafted lyrics, set amid emotive musical compositions. It’s a combination that resonates with all listeners, not just the countercultural pioneers lucky enough to find them first.