1. Although support acts on other stretches of the joint Give Up and Transatlanticism 20-year anniversary tour fit more with the 2003 theme, Las Vegas lucked out by landing cheery Australian outfit The Beths. With Ben Gibbard’s two co-headlining projects presenting mostly melancholic and midtempo indie rock, it was nice to begin the night with a more blissful and breezier version of pop rock. As if The Beths' sound built around singer/guitarist Elizabeth Stokes’ vocal abilities wasn’t enough to lighten the mood, the big-mouth fish head they employed as their backdrop also contributed.
2. The lights hadn’t even come on, and the intro of Transatlanticism opener "The New Year" was yet to start, but the crowd could already see the silhouette of Gibbard rushing around the stage and throwing up his hands. The 47-year-old looked genuinely excited to be revisiting his landmark album with Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism, and it stayed that way for the entire 45-minute set. Gibbard moved frenetically the whole time, noticeably more so than the last time Death Cab played this venue in 2019 in support of 2018 album Thank You for Today. By the time Gibbard finished off Transatlanticism, his dark shirt was soaked with sweat. Most in the venue must have been thinking the same thing: There’s no way he can maintain the same energy for an entire second set.
3. Gibbard somehow did just that — at least for the most part. It only took a 15-minute freshening-up period, a wardrobe change into white and an amped-up visual production for him to be just as lively playing The Postal Service songs. There was less running and playing off bandmates in the latter set, but more dancing and grinning. And Give Up sounded even better, with the venue’s crisp acoustics showcasing the best of The Postal Service’s pretty-and-punchy electronics Gibbard’s subtle voice.
4. No one all night sounded as sublime as Jenny Lewis, though. Gibbard fully ceding the spotlight to Lewis for her vocal parts on songs like “Sleeping In” and “We Will Become Silhouttes” was a treat. Those who didn’t research the tour beforehand may have guessed Lewis, indie-rock royalty in her own right, wasn’t joining. Gibbard could certainly get by with someone else filling in for her parts, but luckily that doesn't seem to have interested him — and for good reason. Dating back to the days that Gibbard and Jimmy “Dntel” Tamborello were trading compact discs through the mail to craft Give Up, authenticity and precision were the ethos. It’s nice to see the focus maintained after so many years.
5. The Postal Service set received the loudest singalongs — particularly and not surprisingly during “Such Great Heights” — but the peak of the night may have come early during the crescendo of Transatlanticism's mid-album title track.The loud instrumental break always makes for a powerful moment live. Full confession: It’s exactly what warmed me to Gibbard six or seven years ago at a festival. Unlike most of the other people in the sold-out crowd, I didn’t grow up on the Give Up or Transatlanticism songs. In fact, I’d cringe and try to dissuade friends from playing the records in high school. My enjoyment of both sets shows the tour is about more than just nostalgia. Gibbard is still achieving greatness all these years later. Terrific songwriting and undying dedication tends to win out over time. It took a lot out of him with two high-energy sets per night, but Gibbard won with this tour.
