The Postal Service / Death Cab for Cutie @ OVO Hydro, Glasgow, 23 Aug

In 2003. amongst a sea of R'n'B and pop records, Ben Gibbard's uniqueness stood out. His career highs, Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie and Give Up by The Postal Service remain iconic emo/electronic-indie records respectively; the latter a side-project turned major success which appeared from nowhere to form the template for albums of its kind for the next decade. Now, 21 years on from their releases and with noughties nostalgia in full flow, millennial music lovers far and wide gather at Scotland’s premier arena to see both records live in full.

After an unsurprisingly excellent warm-up set from Glasgwegian veterans Teenage Fangclub – an act Gibbard later described as a "dream" to share a stage with – the album parties commence. Transatlanticism opens with the crashing entrance of The New Year, as powerful live as on record. Gibbard still navigates the album’s emotional highs and lows effortlessly – his voice warm like a hug from a long-lost friend. The Sound of Settling and Tiny Vessels provide the gain-fuelled, euphoric choruses, while mellow moments Passenger Seat and A Lack of Color dim the lights and jerk the tears. The title track – a classic live number for these seasoned pros – drifts from subtle keys into an almighty crescendo, somehow managing to be even more impactful live than on record. 

Image: The Postal Service @ OVO Hydro, Glasgow, 23 Aug by Serena Milesi

As Death Cab depart to raucous cheers, Gibbard returns – black clothes now traded for white, and accompanied by The Postal Service’s Jimmy Tamborello and Jenny Lewis. When the low hum of The District Sleeps Alone Tonight begins, you’re already sucked in and transported back to the early noughties. The shift in tone to bubblier, zippy electronics and snappy percussion shakes things up sonically, yet Gibbard’s timeless, breathy vocals provide familiar evocative comfort to the set before. The stage set-up is minimal but classy. Simple lighting, no big screens, graphics, or gimmicks – all the focus is on the band, the album, the moment.

While there are few surprises in a setlist everyone knows by heart, the jump into Such Great Heights still feels exultant; a moment yearned for by masses for decades, to see a band who infamously never really toured to begin with play their biggest hit live. "I fucking love this town," Gibbard cries, before Sleeping In and Clark Gable get things a bit dancey, while the cutesy lyrical back-and-forth between Lewis and Gibbard on lovers’ tiff Nothing Better is gloriously flamboyant. Much like with Death Cab, it's obvious the band is loving every minute up there, as Gibbard hot-foots it across the stage to get behind the drums on We Will Become Silhouettes and This Place Is a Prison. 

While the encore, consisting of a beautiful acoustic rendition of Such Great Heights à la Iron & Wine and a cover of Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence featuring all members of both bands, closes proceedings superbly, what’s most striking about tonight is that even for the most high-octane tracks, the crowd is never rocking – just remarkably respectful.

Resisting the urge to make a cheap joke about everyone here being in their late thirties and upwards and with aching backs, instead it's the air of mystique around seeing such culturally significant albums live in their full glory that’s produced a crowd keen to soak up every last moment of records they've carried with them for 21 years. While normally a lack of audience engagement might make a night feel somewhat flat, this instead feels like a stellar theatrical performance of a story you know and love, and a worthy reception for two special records.

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postalservicemusic.net
deathcabforcutie.com