On September 13^th, alternative/indie rock band Death Cab for Cutie performed in front of a live audience at Red Rocks Amphitheatre as well as on a world-wide live stream. Streamers were greeted with a mystical techno beat accompanied by a black backdrop adorned with luminous rainbow-colored balls that left a trail of light as they danced around the screen. As people around the world awaited the performance, they created video chat rooms for various cities to connect with each other.

Eventually, the screen cut to a message “welcome, the show will start soon,” which overlaid a live stream of crew members readying the stage for the performance. The camera shifted to show the crowd of people arriving at their seats, giving live streamers the illusion of being at the show in person. In fact, streamers themselves appeared on screen via the ‘crowd cam,’ which showed at-home viewers in a honeycomb-like structure that rotated around beams of light. An intense beat slowly built up as video clips played of a desert road, the stage assembly against a sandstone wall, crowds, guitars and previous performances. This audio and visual combination created an ambiance that perfectly matched the vibe of the music to follow.

The band, dressed in all black and grey, walked out on stage and performed their first song, “I Will Possess Your Heart,” in front of vertical strips of changing colored lights that lined the back of the stage throughout the show. This gave the effect of performing in front of a city—a stark contrast to the park venue. The otherworldly tune brought the audience in with cymbals and a long musical intro. The song was hopeful and convincing in its message and delivery. Just as the song slowed to a near stop, “The New Year” kicked in. Its somber lyrics juxtaposed the quick-paced, bright musical part. After the song concluded, Ben Gibbard, lead vocalist, welcomed fans to the concert and introduced the band.

One of many standout selections from the night included the mysterious “Doors Unlocked and Open,” during which the band was submerged in blue light as a quick drum beat introduced the tune. Gibbard danced around the stage, singing with pauses between each line of lyrics to allow time for a prominent echo. A repetitive sound frequency undercut the whole song and created an uneasy feeling. “Photobooth,” true to its title, sounded like a memory. The smooth, reminiscent lyrics accompanied by the soft techno beat and sweet musical part translated the feeling of a happy memory into a song. “Title and Registration” featured bells/chimes, clapping hands and a maraca-like instrument. The loud yet gentle guitar part mirrored the frustrated nature of the lyrics: “and here I rest, where disappointment and regret collide lying awake at night….”

The crowd exploded as Gibbard alone played the opening chords to “I Will Follow You Into the Dark” on acoustic guitar. Gibbard delivered strong vocals as red and blue lights lit the stage, drawing a parallel to the mention of heaven and hell in the lyrics of the song. Mid-song, Gibbard stopped and said, “I gotta know what 9,000 people singing this song sounds like.” He then allowed the crowd of strangers to unite to sing a verse, serving as a reminder of the power music possesses to bring people together despite the isolating past year and a half.

“Black Sun’s” explosive, hard rock musical interlude interrupted the song’s soulful, ominous melody, only to quickly resume to its original soft nature. The rough guitar part added a welcomed variety to the band’s typical musical style. Gibbard later joked: “It’s hard to dedicate songs to people, about 98% of them are about death,” and continued to dedicate a song to their opener, Perfume Genius, who were not included in the live-streamed event.

The band delivered a magical rendition of fan favorite, “Soul Meets Body.” The song was bright, featuring acoustic guitars and harmonies that added depth to the vocals. Band members held their instruments up in triumph as the song wrapped and fans cheered. Gibbard expressed immense gratitude to fans with a short statement, proving unmistakably that the band loves performing together and sharing their music. “It’s been a year and a half since we played a show, and we missed you guys so, god, damn much. If there’s anything we learned over the last year and a half, it’s never to take anything for granted again. So, thank you from the bottom of my heart for coming tonight; it really means a lot to me.”

During their encore, Death Cab for Cutie covered TLC’s smooth tune “Waterfalls,” which included a slow, consistent guitar melody. The band explained their choice to cover this song with a quick announcement: “it’s only fair we come clean about a couple of things, we hold a couple radical political ideas. We believe in all kinds of crazy radical stuff, no one in this country should be disenfranchised because of the color of their skin. We hooked up with another radical organization called Fair Fight and we did a couple songs by bands in Georgia.” The concert ended with the somber “Transatlanticism.” The repetition of the line “I need you so much closer” was as dizzying as it was desperate. As the song drew to a close, listeners were released from its grasp and sent on their way with a message on screen: “That’s a wrap–thanks for coming.”

Set List:

Encore: