Maybe it's the fact that Seattle's Death Cab For Cutie's studio work is so stiflingly perfect, with pinpoint accuracy, that it can only be truly enjoyed as heard on a stereo system.
Maybe it's the fact that Allentown's Nietzsche's is a venue that is still getting used to housing top-notch indie rock shows, and the sold-out crowd of 300-plus made the venue a greenhouse of humidity on a 26 degree Buffalo night.
Maybe it's the all-American hype machine slipping a notch, or just a band thrown a little off-kilter by glitches in a sound system.
Whatever the case may be, Sunday's well-hyped Death Cab For Cutie show simply did not live up to the lofty expectations such a brilliant band brings to the table.
The band's 90-minute set was not a failure by any means. A pretty consistent ride through Death Cab's two most talked about albums and a riot for most of the diehard fans/sardines in a can in attendance, it simply fell short of being incredibly interesting to enjoy live for a casual listener.
Frontman Benjamin Gibbard and company - guitarist Christopher Walla, bassist Nicholas Harmer and drummer Michael Schorr - did a good job planning a set list that offset their mellow songs with some of their more driving numbers.
After playing three songs of the former variety to start the set, including the spellbinding "We Laugh Indoors" off of 2002's "Photo Album," Death Cab proceeded to play three tracks from their latest release, the critically acclaimed "Transatlanticism." The crowd greeted this change in set with a roar previously unheard. "The New Year," the first single from the album, was sung almost as loud from the mouths of the crowd as it was from Gibbard over the PA.
Despite some sound issues that marred vocals on tracks later in the set, the band seemed to enjoy playing Nietzsche's, which is one of the smaller, more intimate venues they've played on the nationwide tour. Its unique stage is located - traditionally - both to the front of and above the crowd, but along both sides of the lower audience area are raised seating areas.
"I like that we're playing in a pirate ship," Gibbard mused.
Harmer and Walla, who also manned the keyboards for certain songs, switched positions for the raucous "We Looked Like Giants," and Harmer used the opportunity to speak to the audience for the first time.
"I have a secret that I have to share with you," he began with an air of playful suspense. "I really have to pee. So just recognize that every time I bounce around and my guitar hits my belly, there's a good chance I could pee my pants."
Perhaps on account of his bladder - perhaps not - Death Cab wrapped up their set with two more songs, including their latest single, "The Sound of Settling," and an "encore."
"Look, you guys can see how jam-packed it is in here," Gibbard said to the crowd. "So how about instead of us weaving our way through you and coming back for an encore, we play one song, wait about 25 seconds, and do the encore then?"
Finishing with two beautiful, moving tracks off the new record, the title track and "Tiny Vessels," Death Cab bid Buffalo adieu after a well-appreciated set. While lacking the perfection of their albums, the show was certainly well played and enjoyed.
The eight-piece Architecture For Helsinski opened the show, but was nothing more than musicians switching instruments and exhibiting pretension. The best way to sum up the band is to say they give snooty indie kids something to pretend they find brilliant.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
