Live Revew: Death Cab for Cutie + An Horse – Enmore Theatre (18.08.08)

After traveling around the world several times, seeing concerts all over the place along the way, last week’s Death Cab for Cutie concert in Sydney proved one thing to me: We have some of the rudest crowds in the world.

Such is to be expected, some may argue, with all ages gigs – the idea of concert etiquette hasn’t gotten into their heads just yet. But no matter where else I’ve seen a gig – be it Vancouver, London, Los Angeles, New York – the kids are there to listen to the music and sing along… not talk the whole way through it… especially this close to the stage!

I guess this might seem like a grumpy rant, but it really is bewildering that a band of this respected stature can have 15 year old fans who come to their concerts, not to listen, but rather to scream and jump up and down, saying how much they love this song and this band to their friends. All the meanwhile, completely ignoring the song; their backs to the band for 80% of the concert. And on the flipside, you have your drunken 20 year olds who should know better, taking every chance to scream out during the more quiet songs to do just that. The video on the right should give you an idea of what I mean. It just ruined moments which would have otherwise been perfect… even beautiful. And a lack of volume didn’t help matters either.

And why this bewilders me, is simply because of what I said before: anywhere else in the world, people actually shut up and listen. And yes, yelling out and getting excited about a song is totally okay – but if you’re doing it through the ENTIRE concert. EVERY SONG. Why are you here, at a DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE concert? This is band who thrive on the quiet moments, and without it, the atmosphere is just slaughtered, and the nights of myself and lot of the people around me were borderline ruined as a result. Save it for Sneaky Sound System, boys and girls.

But that said, Mr. Gibbard and co. put on an incredible set list, playing virtually everything the audience was craving. From the epic set-opener “Bixby Canyon Bridge”, to the similarly beautiful and epic (and favourite of most Death Cab fans) “Transatlanticism” finishing up the night, not even the aforementioned douche bags could spoil all of the magic their music gives out to the crowd. And musically, these guys are as tight as you’d expect… Ben switching between the acoustic and electric guitar, as well as the piano with ease, while the others backed him up masterfully. The most recent singles of course got the most attention from the crowd – with the latest “I Will Possess Your Heart” being particularly impressive live.

All songs from the new album (the cover of which made up the stage’s backdrop) translate rather impressively live actually, and provided some of the night’s best moments. Narrow Stairs, while disappointing to some (not myself, however), was definitely made as an album to be performed and perfected live.

I’d love to see Death Cab again, as they certainly didn’t disappoint… but I think next time I’ll try to see them in another city, or another country. For gigs like this, seeing it with a Sydney crowd just isn’t the best way to experience their music… I hear Seattle is nice this time of year?

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.