Staff Editor on August 15th, 2019

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Death Cab For Cutie gave fans a night to remember at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday night. Opening with “Passenger Set,” the melancholic piano melody instantly resonated with the crowd as frontman Ben Gibbard stood illuminated in the wash of single spotlight, nostalgia high. It was the perfect start to what would be a 23-song song set. Picking up the tempo from there, they plunged into an expansive catalog —  pulling from both new and seasoned material. Within seconds of hearing the thumping bassline of “I Will Possess Your Heart,” the audience erupted uncontrollably. Not long after the band dove into the second live debut of “Kids in 99.” As the set wound down, Dave Depper (guitar/keys) took the mic to announce that it’s Gibbard’s 43rd birthday, leading the entire Bowl to triumphantly sing “Happy Birthday.” Gibbard comically replied, “Thank you for coming to my last show with Death Cab for Cutie,” before diving into “Soul Meets Body.” As the band returned for their anticipated encore, the audience was greeted once again by Gibbard alone on stage with an acoustic guitar for an intimate moment that turned into a sing-along to “I Will Follow You Into The Dark.” The band closed with the title track from “Transatlaticism.”

Car Seat Headrest opened with a stirring set punctuated by the crunchy freneticism of Will Toledo’s guitar and brazenly pensive tenor.

Set list: Passenger Seat, I Dreamt We Spoke Again, The Ghosts of Beverly Drive, Long Division, Title and Registration, Gold Rush, Crooked Teeth, No Sunlight, What Sarah Said, 60 & Punk, I Will Possess Your Heart, Grapevine Fires, Kids in ’99, Black Sun, Northern Lights, Styrofoam Plates, Cath…, We Looked Like Giants, Soul Meets Body. Encore: I Will Follow You Into the Dark, When We Drive, Tiny Vessels, Transatlanticiscm.

Photos and recap by Bryan Greenberg