Death Cab for Cutie, Walt Disney Concert Hall, Los Angeles, California

Indie rock goes classical

I was out in the Los Angeles area for a transit conference, and as Tuesday night rolled around, I was still hemming and hawing as to whether or not to trek downtown for the Death Cab for Cutie show. Eventually, I decided to go for it, hopping on the rail without a ticket but hoping for the best. It was a long way from my hotel room in Long Beach and I still couldn’t find a good cheap ticket on Craigslist or the Stubhub. I was late to the venue and Stubhub ended their listings. I panicked a bit and bought a ticket from the first scalper I could find outside the venue, probably paying a too much.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall seemed to be more designed for symphony performances, with expansive openness and seats wrapping around the entire venue. The venue itself was interesting and beautiful, easily the most aesthetically pleasing venue that I had ever attended. I had a decent seat on the side with a good view, about where a box seat would be if it were an opera, and had a few empty free seats on either side of me. Like the last time I saw Death Cab at DAR Constitution Hall in DC, my seat was high on the right side and seated. I was not too impressed the last time I saw them at DAR, though I blame much of it on the venue. While I still don’t prefer seated venues, the improved acoustics of Disney Hall did make for a better show. I bet it would have sounded even better had I been able to view the show straight on.

I was curious to see Youth Lagoon, the opening act, but did not arrive in time. I arrived in plenty of time for Death Cab though. They took the stage with the Magik Magik Orchestra, a string ensemble who was featured on their newest album. It apparently worked so well that Death Cab invited them onto their tour. I always enjoy seeing a band with a string ensemble; the new arrangements provide a refreshing take on the existing songs. The orchestra played with the band for most of their set, though they sat out a few songs, including those where it was just the band and others where it was just frontman Ben Gibbard. In total, they played all of the songs that I wanted to hear except for “Marching Bands of Manhattan.”Oh well, still a solid, if predictable, set list.

Being a seated show, no one really stood up, except for one guy in the back of the front section that got up from time to time to dance, doing little spin moves in front of his seat. I also wanted to get up and groove a bit but did not want to block the people behind me. I wish I would have had a seat in the back of a section.

Setlist:
Passenger Seat
Different Names for the Same Thing
A Movie Script Ending
Title and Registration
Grapevine Fires
Codes and Keys
Underneath the Sycamore
Little Fury Bugs
Death of an Interior Decorator
You Are a Tourist
Bend to Squares
Hindsight
Cath
No Joy in Mudville
What Sarah Said
Soul Meets Body
Stay Young, Go Dancing
Encore:
Steadier Footing (Acoustic)
405
I'll Be Your Mirror (Acoustic)
Monday Morning (The Velvet Underground Cover) (Acoustic)
I Will Follow You into the Dark (Acoustic)
Tiny Vessels
Transatlanticism