Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie at Climate Pledge Arena

We’ve been waiting for the Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie shows at Climate Pledge Arena since they were announced. Celebrating their 20th year anniversary of releasing albums, Give Up, and Transatlanticism, we were thrilled to catch two of our favorite bands in one night. Funny enough they were both led by the talented Ben Gibbard, who would be on double duty for the night. The opening band was one of our favorites, The Beths as everyone warmed up for two sold out nights in Seattle. We’ve been lucky enough to catch Death Cab plenty of times before, but Postal Service would be the real treat tonight.

First up was Death Cab for Cutie playing their album Transatlanticism, kicking off with one of my favorite songs, “The New Year.” The band took the stage wearing all black with Ben Gibbard leading in the middle. There were two levels separating the band as lights illuminated the top of each outlined platform. Gibbard’s energy was just radiating as you can tell how happy he was to be playing the first of two sold out home shows. He stopped to welcome people to the show saying how happy they were to finally be home after so many tour stops. “This band is called Death Cab for Cutie and we’re from Seattle, and this is Transatlanticism.”

For their song “Passenger Seat,” Gibbard remained on stage alone with their pianist, Zac Rae, to play an intimate tune. He then thanked The Beths for opening the show, and complemented their lead singer Elizabeth Stokes, saying that she’s one of the greatest songwriters of their generation. The band went on to play, “We Look Like Giants,” which was dedicated to them. As they finished their set, Gibbard thanked everyone and said “Hey, give us 15 minutes and will be right back to give up.”

After a very short 15 minutes, it was time for Postal Service to take the stage and as the lights lit up we saw everyone come out this time wearing all white switching it from the black. It looked cool to get that contrast and I’m sure it’s nice for Gibbard and Dave Depper to switch it up for the second part of the show. Seeing Jenny Lewis, and Jimmy Tamborello on stage this round shifted the emotions a bit and made it their own. Starting their set with “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight,” as soon as Jenny Lewis sang her first note everyone welcomed her by cheering her on.

Depper had double duty for the show along with lead Gibbard who for a couple of songs also took a seat at the drums. The crowd was constantly showing how grateful they were for the return of Postal Service and participated whenever they could. For “Such Great Heights,” they were clapping along to the beat as lights flashed on them showing everyone together in the moment. The night also had a special guest for the show as vocalist Jen Wood joined the band for their song “Nothing Better.”

You could tell just how much this all meant for the local band that has done so well and continues to be able to play to large crowds around the world. We’re all proud to have such special artists come from the city and we’ll always show up for them to show our support. Their encore included an acoustic, “Such Great Heights,” that was just Gibbard and Lewis on stage. For their last song everyone joined on stage for a cover of Depeche Mode‘s, “Enjoy the Silence.” What a special night we all enjoyed in Seattle tonight. It’s going to be a while until we forget this one and all the emotions it brought back again.

Photos: David Conger