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Ben Gibbard delivers for adoring audience
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stepping onto a bare stage, Ben Gibbard, of Death Cab for Cutie, picked up his guitar and immediately captivated the reverent crowd with “Steadier Footing,” a lesser known tune from Death Cab’s 2001 “The Photo Album.”
The song, about sitting with a secret crush and wasting the moment to confess, set the tone for Saturday evening at Midtown’s Center Stage, one stop on a month-long acoustic solo tour.
Gibbard’s songwriting is rich with precise moments in time — specific, but universal (“I’m feeling green like teenage lovers between the sheets” from “Recycled Air”). And, stripped down to the bare essentials — Gibbard’s tenor, detailed lyrics and an acoustic guitar or upright piano — the lyrical snapshots click into clear focus.
As Gibbard played, confessing this stop was the only one without a set list, he picked songs from throughout his career. “You Remind Me of Home,” an early indie release, which is not a love song (“You remind me of home: in a suburban town with nothing to do”) and “Your Heart is an Empty Room” from the Death Cab for Cutie latest, “Plans,” became even more poignant in their acoustic versions.
Touching on selections from his electronica side project “The Postal Service,” the “Brand New Colony,” morphed from a slightly boring song on a great album into an enchanting and sweet love song.
Occasionally Gibbard punctuated his own work with covers, including a gorgeous version of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and Nirvana’s “All Apologies” transforming the song’s bitterness to aching sadness.
The only blemish in an otherwise mesmerizing evening came at the very end. Both David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion) and Johnathan Rice, Gibbard’s two opening acts, came onto stage to sing backup for the final song, The Postal Service’s “Some Great Heights.” The lethargic and unnecessary singing from the two was drowned out by the voices of the crowd.
All in all, Gibbard delivered what was promised to an adoring audience. In a small, intimate space fans could witness his trademark bouncing and tapping up close. He was shy but friendly and played exactly what they wanted to hear — illustrated by one fan’s shout mid-show, “You (expletive) rock!” To which Gibbard replied, “I don’t know if that’s what this is, but thank you.”
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