Death Cab For Cutie - Crystal Ballroom - Portland, OR - 5/5/04

Arriving at the Crystal on Wednesday night, I noticed something right off. I was in for a very crowded evening of rock n roll. The great Northwest has spawned its share of highly successful bands over the years, but the number has been fewer over the last couple. One thing that can be said about the good folks up here is they LOVE their local bands, and they will show their support.

Death Cab were on their last stop before going home to Washington. The band had been on tour for some time, and they were clearly glad to be heading home " We can see the border from here, and we can't wait to be fucking home" was a quote from Ben, the leader. The crowd itself was incredible. I have never seen anything like it. It was packed about as much as the Crystal can hold, but that was not the surprising part. It seemed as if the average age was about 15. There was clearly 3 under-18's to every adult. I quickly moved into the far less crowded "adult" side, and waited for the band.

When they arrived, the kids went hysterical. They were screaming so loud you would think that the Beatles had just arrived onstage. Or at very least the Rutles. The band launched into The New Year, and proceeded to play a great number of the tunes from Transatlanticism. The high point in the set came early on with a very tight Expo 86, but from there, they struggled to keep the enthusiasm up. This is a band that was obviously very exhausted from touring, and it showed. The songs didn't have that extra edge. The excitement was dim. I think that if I was at an earlier show in the tour, I would be saying something entirely different. They showed a lot of respect and appreciation for the fans that came out to support them, and the fans gave that back, but Death Cab were clearly ready to have a break. Here's hoping that they enjoy a bit of down time, and are fresh and ready to go when they return to Oregon in September with the Pixies.