Photo Credit: Allen Halas
Death Cab For Cutie
There’s something to be said for consistency in modern music. In a world where a band can be forgotten just weeks after releasing music, Death Cab For Cutie have maintained a presence at the top of indie rock for just over two decades. If you needed any reasoning as to why they have been able to keep themselves there, look no further than Sunday night’s closing set at the Generac Power Stage. A packed crowd filled the stage area, spanning multiple generations, another testament to Death Cab’s staying power.
With no added set, and plain black and grey t-shirts, they calmly made their way onstage, and let their music do much of the legwork on Saturday. Fortunately for the band, they have a lengthy discography of material to pull from, and they sampled around just about all of it on Saturday. The night opened on material from their most recent record, 2021’s Thank You For Today, with album opener “I Dreamt We Spoke Again” and “Summer Years.” The newer material gave way to songs from the band’s biggest run to date about four songs in, when 2008 track “Long Division” got the big crowd bouncing on the bleachers for the first time. The crowd taking their time to settle in didn’t phase frontman Ben Gibbard, however, who was in perpetual motion, swaying side to side while delivering each song.
To their credit, while Death Cab For Cutie have become known largely for slower, more emotive songs, they kept the pace up on the final night of the festival. As the air chilled around the Generac Power Stage, the band sped up, just as the more popular selections of the night were due up in the set. That included a full album version of “I Will Possess Your Heart,” complete with its perpetual build and a minutes-long jam before Gibbard would lead the crowd with some spirited vocals. That song came the better part of 40 minutes into the set, which had seemingly flown by with the way that the band relayed from one song into another.
Ballad “I Will Follow You Into The Dark” was almost a special moment for the night, until it couldn’t be. Gibbard mentioned the band’s history in Milwaukee, and recalled their first show in the city, a 1999 bill at Cactus Club for “about six people in the crowd,” per his recollection. He dedicated the song to everyone that was there in attendance that first night. However, Summerfest failed to disclose that the final night would feature fireworks on Lakeshore State Park, which essentially killed the mood of the somber singalong. Gibbard noted that it was the first time the band had ever been disrupted by fireworks, and also brought up some cryptic thoughts of a dark reality by noting that he wasn’t sure what the explosions were. “I thought that something bad was happening, but it ended up being something pretty wonderful” he joked to the crowd afterwards.
That moment ended up being the turning point of the set, as Death Cab For Cutie would again pick up the pace for the home stretch. Singles “Black Sun” and “Cath” brought on lots of crowd participation, as both had been radio staples at the time of their release. The band also previewed a new single, “Here To Forever,” which comes out this Wednesday. A destructive sounding finale to 2008’s “Bixby Canyon Bridge” made the thought of an encore questionable, as less bands are actually doing that during this festival run, but the 9:30 start time allowed for a pair of hits to close the night after a brief departure from the stage. “You Are A Tourist” was a mellow return to the set, and breakout “Soul Meets Body” sent the Generac Power Stage crowd home singing. While it wasn’t the latest finish for a set on Saturday, Death Cab For Cutie effectively closed out the festival with the biggest selection of hit singles. It was a reminder of their place in indie rock, as well as the hearts of fans in Milwaukee.
