When I heard about this “secret show” it appealed to me because of where it took place. If it would have been anywhere else I don’t know if I would have coughed up the dough for it. I wouldn’t pay to see Death Cab for Cutie at an Arena or similar type venue, which is their normal tour venue these days, but the Belly Up is such a great intimate venue it was a no brainer. Ben even made the comment “when was the last time we played a bar....the 90’s?” during the show.

I have the album “Plans” and remember liking it when I had it on constant rotation in my cd player a few years ago, so I gave it several more run throughs before the show. This is a really good album. Some bands in the Indie Rock genre have a wimpy boring sound that produces no emotion whatsoever, but this is where Plans delivers.

Overall, the show was really good. A couple of the highlights include the extremely long intro for “I will possess your heart.” You know when you have a really good groove and you want to play it over and over? That is what this felt like. It was completely engaging and pulled you in. The funny thing is I didn’t like this song when I first heard it on the radio. The other highlight was the solo acoustic version of “I will follow you into the dark” which was the first song of the encore. After a couple shushes the venue was quiet so the song could be enjoyed without the normal chatter. Good stuff. I’m glad I went.

SET LIST
Marching Bands
Empty Room
New Year
Crooked Teeth
President
No Sunlight
My Mirror Speaks
Photobooth
Summer Skin
I Will Possess Your Heart
Little Bribes
Cath
Long Division
Settling
Bixby Canyon Bridge

ENCORE
I Will Follow You Into the Dark
Grapevine Fires
Title and Reg
Movie Script
Soul meets Body
Transatlanticism