Girl at the Rock Shows

I ran into a buddy at The Armory on Friday night. “This is a little light for you, isn’t it?” He asked, a bit confused as to why he was bumping into me at this show. Honestly, he was right. Death Cab for Cutie is definitely a bit light compared to what I typically listen to, but this band holds a special place in my heart. It’s the music for those sad and lonely late nights in, music for cold and snowy days spent by the fire. Truthfully, it wasn’t music for a Friday night after a hectic week for me, but I wasn’t about to miss a chance to see this monumental band live. So, yes, Mark, you were right, the music of Death Cab for Cutie is a bit light compared to what I tend to lean into, but the beauty and emotion that this band puts into everything they do will keep me coming back time and time again.

Before I get into Death Cab’s set on Friday night, let’s talk about opening act Jay Som Band. Like Death Cab, the sound of Jay Som is definitely a bit lighter than I tend to go for but, ever sense I saw her for the first time back in 2016, Jay became one of those artists that, if in the right mood, I would obsess over. I may not have been in one of those “right moods” on Friday night, but that didn’t lessen the power that I felt from Jay Som and her amazing band.

I was lost in the textures of the Jay Som Band’s sound. It’s definitely your standard indie-pop kind of sound, but there’s an attention to detail that can be heard and felt throughout Jay Som’s songs that makes it feel that much more spectacular than just any other indie rock band. Maybe this comes from the fact that, on recording, Jay does everything so her allowing other musicians to take over certain parts and aspects of her music makes her loosen up a wee bit in a way that it makes the set feel organic and fresh or maybe it’s just the way that Jay Som clearly cares about what she is putting out in the world, both music-wise and energy-wise. Either way, she had me stuck and, as I stood there taking in every word of every song, I could feel every stress of the week slip off my body in such a beautiful and much-needed way.

I’ll be honest, there’s not much more to say here. Visually, Jay Som’s set was a little stagnant, which, I know, sounds like a bad thing, but it really wasn’t. Instead of relying on mass production like this large venue can typically lean on, Jay and her band leaned into their sound, creating the perfect atmosphere to kick Friday night off.

Oh, where, oh where to begin with Death Cab For Cutie (or DCFC because I’m already sick of typing that out every time)? DCFC has been around since 1997. It wasn’t an instant rise to fame for this band; they definitely put the time and work into becoming the household name that they are these days. For me, it was their 2008 album ‘Narrow Stairs’ that had me hooked. That album came out in my first year of college. I was feeling homesick and a bit lonely, questioning if going to college for a music business degree was really worth it while also dealing with heartbreak and stress that I don’t wish on anyone. Like many other bands and so many other albums, DCFC and ‘Narrow Stairs’ came in and saved me. “Your New Twin-Sized Bed” was a constant in my daily playlists, and I wasn’t afraid to listen to all eight minutes and twenty-five seconds of “I Will Possess Your Heart” on a walk to school or to work. Long story short, it took me years to catch onto this band, but when I did, I never let go, and neither did they.

Friday night was not my first time seeing DCFC live. The first time I did, I was hit with such a wave of emotion that I spent the majority of their set bawling my eyes out in a corner. Not this show. I was going to actually see and hear this show, not just get lost in my own head. I started off strong. “Riptides” from their new album ‘I Built You a Tower’ kicked off the set and gave me time to get to work on taking cool photos, but then, after that opening song, the band played “The New Year.” I could start to feel my cheeks get hot and that familiar trembling in my chin. No, I wasn’t going to give in. I stayed strong and continued to take my photos while getting deeper and deeper into my own head with the soundtrack that is DCFC.

The set went on. I would bounce between being highly emotional and being a statue. Sometimes it depended on the song, but it also sometimes just depended on the emotion that was radiating from the stage. No matter how far back into this hangar-like venue I went, I could still feel the emotion I felt while taking my photos from the photo pit. Sure, the music of this band is “light,” but that’s the only thing “light” about them. There’s this heaviness that comes with hearing vocalist Ben Gibbard’s voice live. It’s not a heaviness in the tone or anything like that. In fact, he sounded absolutely recording-quality throughout the set, as did the rest of this iconic band. The heaviness is more in the attention to detail that Ben and his band put into everything. Whether it was the top-notch sound or the images flashing on the screens behind the band throughout the performance, DCFC’s set was an absolute mood and a beautiful one at that.

It was twenty songs of absolute bliss followed by an incredible four-song encore. Sure, the focus was on the new album, but I loved how we got to hear a little bit of everything, including “I Will Follow You Into the Dark,” which was beautifully dedicated to the Twin Cities for, well, everything. We got to hear the tour debut of “Summer Years,” and then the band closed out the set with a truly stunning performance of “Transatlanticism.” I may not have been able to hear “Your New Twin Sized Bed” but, truthfully, I was okay with that. That part of my life is over, and although I will always have a soft spot for that song, I think there’s now room for some of the new songs that I heard on Friday night.

I preach this a lot, I know, but I feel like it needs to be said. As surprised as my buddy seemed to be to see me at this show, when I explained it to him by just saying, “Come on, it’s Death Cab!” he got it. Don’t get stuck in a box. Don’t get stuck in a genre or a vibe. Get stuck in energy and passion. Find the bands that make you feel something. Find the bands that make you feel loved, warm, cozy, and seen. Even if it’s just for a fleeting moment of time, those are the bands to stick with because, when everything else fails, those are the bands that will save you. Death Cab for Cutie has saved me more than once, and no matter what weird music I get into, I will always come back to them when I need a familiar hug.

Line Up:

Jay Som Band

Death Cab for Cutie

Venue: Armory

Smell-O-Meter: Nothing Notable

Average Age of the Crowd: 46

Crowd Surfers- 0

Stage Divers- 0

Cry-ability- 9 out of 10

Amount of Beer Spilled On Me While Walking Around- $0

Broken Bones- None

Spotted Flying Through The Air- Nothing

Fights- None

Pukers- 0

Passed Out People- 0

How Many Times I’ve Seen These Bands Before (or at least how many times I can remember)-

Jay Som – 2

Death Cab for Cutie – 3

Show on Deck – Pullstring / The Dalmatian Club / Call Me Fritz / Syncline // The Bouncing Souls / The Suicide Machines / Death By Stereo / The Drowns

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