Death Cab for Cutie delivers again at The Midland with career-spanning set

February 9, 2023

Chris Ortiz, Hannah Strader,

Death Cab for Cutie. // photo by Chris Ortiz

Death Cab for Cutie
with Momma
The Midland
Monday, February 6

One of the best things about Death Cab for Cutie shows in Kansas City is that they consistently perform phenomenally live. The band is familiar with the city and the audience already knows the drill.

For their umpteenth return to the Midland on Monday evening, the theater was sold out.

Momma. // photo by Chris Ortiz

Warmed up by the moody indie band Momma, it was exactly the right kind of vibes for sipping beers and lighting newly legal joints–both of these things done liberally from the pit, well beyond the opener’s exit.

After the initial excitement behind Death Cab’s appearance on stage died down, the general mood seemed to be … somewhat ambivalent. Though their latest album Asphalt Meadows released last September, a lot of attendees were checking their phones while waiting for the deeper cuts. It wasn’t long before “The New Year” brought us back to 2003, a safe space for many in the room. The set list continued on in this way, a well-rounded mixture of old hits and songs from the new album to showcase some of their best sounds from the last two decades.

Even Ben Gibbard himself couldn’t help but remark upon how surprising it is that they’re still doing the damned thing.

Their next tour has the frontman pulling double shifts for the 20th anniversary of Transatlanticism and Give Up by The Postal Service. Unfortunately, there won’t be a stop in KC, but you can choose to pay nearly triple the amount of face value to nab tickets to either of their sold out shows in Denver.

By the end of their nearly two hour set, groups were starting to trickle out onto Main Street in an attempt to beat the traffic. Most were ready to go before the encore, but others determined to stay through the last chords of “Transatlanticism.”

With a setlist like that and the intensity of their sound, it was hard to leave disappointed.

All photos by Chris Ortiz (Instagram: @fastboyent).

Death Cab For Cutie

Death Cab For Cutie setlist
I Don’t Know How I Survive
Roman Candles
The New Year
Cath…
Why You’d Want to Live Here
Here to Forever
Black Sun
Northern Lights
I Miss Strangers
Crooked Teeth
Rand McNally
I Will Follow You Into the Dark
I Will Possess Your Heart
Your Heart Is an Empty Room
Asphalt Meadows
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive
We Looked Like Giants
The Sound of Settling
Foxglove Through the Clearcut
—
Brothers on a Hotel Bed
Pepper
Soul Meets Body
Transatlanticism