Death Cab for Cutie – Live in Singapore
Fort Canning Park/Wednesday
If names are destinies, then alternative rock band Death Cab For Cutie can be said to have fulfilled theirs, for it is striking how many of their songs deal with dying.
Morbid case in point: A highlight of their recent two-hour gig here was undoubtedly frontman Ben Gibbard alone with his acoustic guitar singing I Will Follow You Into The Dark. Backed up by the audience as chorus, he promised in his clear and plaintive voice: “If there’s no one beside you/When your soul embarks/Then I’ll follow you into the dark.”
And on What Sarah Said, he crooned: “But I’m thinking of what Sarah said/That love is watching someone die”.
On other occasions, the four-member band used death as a metaphor. Marching Bands Of Manhattan ominously intoned that “your love is gonna drown”.
But if death was a constant theme, it was present in a vibrant show that was attended by 5,500, say the organisers.
Looking like a college student in his red checked shirt and skinny jeans, Gibbard proved he had the boundless energy of one as well.
Long Division, off their Billboard No. 1 album Narrow Stairs (2008), was revved up a notch from the disc and he could barely contain himself as he furiously unwound the guitar and microphone wires holding him back.
Apart from a minor snag or two, having already performed in Australia, New Zealand and Taipei, the band were a well-oiled machine and they put on a tight and energetic show, their second in Singapore, that was free of frills.
Melancholia seldom sounded this good, whether paired with sunny melodies or delivered in downbeat doses.
The band performed material spanning their career, including Photobooth from The Forbidden Love EP (2000), A Movie Script Ending off The Photo Album (2001), A Lack Of Color from the critically lauded Transatlanticism (2003) as well as Meet Me On The Equinox, which was on the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009).
New album Codes And Keys (2011) was represented by Doors Unlocked And Open, You Are A Tourist and St. Peter’s Cathedral. While the record marked a departure of sorts from the more characteristically guitar-driven sound of the band, the change was not as marked on stage except for the synth-backed title track.
Gibbard was not one given to much small talk, though he remarked charmingly at one point: “Looks like our friend Sticky Heat showed up. He’s my worst enemy, I hate him.”
When bassist Nick Harmer had to deal with a technical glitch, Gibbard mused: “I could take this opportunity to do some shameless promotion on our behalf, but I won’t. Maybe I can talk about how bad airline food is.”
The final song of the gig was the epic ballad Transatlanticism with its insistent repetition of “I need you so much closer”. It was a touchingly direct and earnest plea for human connection, one which Death Cab had already made with their fans that night.
(ST)