Death Cab For Cutie @ O2 Academy, 19 November

As forms of protest go, three young guys getting their penises out as evidence of their indifference to Death Cab's tour support  is unlikely to catch on. But as the crowd observes the three offenders being led away by security, it's hard not to feel they had a point. Apparently pitching themselves somewhere between Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend, Butcher The Bar (AKA folk Joel Nicholson and band) receive some polite applause but it's very much just a case of killing time until Ben Gibbard arrives.

 

Following a period of inconsistency that seemed to coincide with domestic bliss, there's a lot of talk tonight surrounding his recent separation from indie princess Zooey Deschanel and the possibility that it might hasten a new era of Death Cab For Cutie at their heartbroken, lonely best. In actual fact the stubbly, healthy-looking guy who eventually bounds onstage seems very much in good spirits, nay on the pull.

 

Lively renditions of emo anthems like Crooked Teeth, Marching Bands of Manhattan and tonight's highlight Soul Meets Body see the buoyant frontman stomping in time with the unerringly tight musicianship of the greater band. Whilst some of the newer material tests the audience's patience, the more pacey tunes fit nicely into the set, adding a directness missing from Death Cab's early catalogue. Far from a sombre tour of self pity and angst, what we witness is a positively energised celebration of melody and optimism.