Photographs by Sean Chin.
Death Cab for Cutie was one of the headlining acts of this year’s Canadian Music Week. They performed at the Sony Centre for Performing Arts and opening the night was The Antlers.
Some bands make you think. An avid fan of The Antlers, I freely admit they’re not everyone’s “Rosebud”. They’re a band who place tangible and personal lyricism over dense, compelling soundscapes. This isn’t exactly Billboard material here. It was with these concerns that I wondered how well they’d be able to fill a cavernous space like The Sony Centre. Is there a ceiling for how large a venue an indie band of this calibre can really perform?
Any worries were thankfully allayed. As it happened, The Antlers played with a drive and passion that reached all the way to the back balcony. Weaving between weighty instrumentation and delicate gossamer chords, the performance was brought to the fore by a bevy of enthralling aural artefacts.
A set composed primarily of material from 2011’s Burst Apart and 2014’s Familiars was a solid choice. The one deviation, Kettering, from their 2009 breakout Hospice, sadly didn’t translate to the massive venue. Of a different time, the track relies on a frail, intimate vocal performance that was out of sorts with the terrain. As soon as the lyrics abated, the backing kicked in and pulled the energy up with it. The one blemish did little to tarnish an otherwise outstanding performance. If you’re intrigued, check The Antlers out when they open for Spoon in June.
Have you ever had this weird feeling that everything’s technically fine but somehow things just aren’t working? Watching Death Cab for Cutie at the Sony Centre, it was hard not to feel strangely disconnected. The band’s enthusiasm was evident, the gig opening with lead singer Ben Gibbard emploring the crowd “feel free to stand up guys”. A well rounded 5-piece with years of experience, everything sounded as it should. They had little issue filling the centre, taking advantage of the resonant acoustics. The crowd were rabid, punctuating every possible moment of silence with screams of adoration. The lighting and visuals were impressive: Huge roaming strobes illuminated the room while engrossing visualisations were cast over a backdrop adorned with the new album’s image. These things all worked, but somehow a certain vitality was missing.
The thing is, nothing felt like it was being phoned in. Everyone wanted a great gig and was set to get one, but it just wasn’t happening. With a generous set-list spanning the band’s career, this was no cynical cash grab to explicitly tour a new album. The band was jovial and keen, obviously giving it what they had. It’s hard to follow a band like Death Cab and not build up a relationship to the music. As such, the crowd were really baying for success that just seemed to elude the performance. Everyone was cheering, but nobody was dancing. To be honest, once it hit the hour mark I was considering leaving.
Then it happened. Solo in the spotlight, Gibbard performed every couple’s “song”, I Will Follow You Into The Dark. Something tangible shifted. It’s hard to witness an impeccably written ballad performed with an affable sincerity and remain untouched. Gibbard quipped that he’d woken up feeling pretty sick and unsure of what to do about the show that night. An easy explanation of why things had felt somehow off. After that, things just clicked. Whether it was a simple emotional toggle or something more substantive, everything seemed that much more vivid. The highlights flowed one after another – a perfect transition between The New Year and Cath, the enthralling build of I Will Possess Your Heart, the delicate lightness of Passenger Seat all stood as picture perfect moments. Closing out with crowd favourite Transatlanticism was a winner, lit by a single white point that gradually expanded to bathe the stage in light. However it began, it was hard not to leave at least a little spellbound.
