Death Cab for Cutie Comes Alive

On 9 March, alt-rock sensation Death Cab for Cutie makes its first-ever appearance in China at Shanghai’s Yunfeng Theatre as the opening act at the JUE Festival. Over its decade-plus career, the band has gone from being a garage band in the suburbs of Seattle hoping to grab a gig in the city to achieving international stardom. Death Cab for Cutie bassist Nick Harmer spoke on behalf of the band about its newest album and life on the road to Shanghai.

This is Death Cab for Cutie’s first trip to China, and like most bands coming for the first time, the band is starting with a blank slate. “I don’t really know what to expect; I haven’t spoken with any bands that have been to China yet. I’m pleasantly in the dark about it,” says Harmer.

In terms of China’s nascent rock and roll culture, Harmer admits to being just as unaware, but also equally as enthusiastic. “I’ll read an article every once in a while about a Chinese punk band, or I’ll hear whisperings. But really, I’m eager to get there and see what’s going on.”

Harmer even proves to be in the dark about the fact that his band is opening up the JUE Festival, commenting excitedly “I had no idea! The two Chinese shows that we’re doing are right at the end of the tour and our booking agent said he had some good success with going over to China. For us, we knew that any opportunity to go there would be a once in a lifetime chance for us. So we were ready to go.”

And while Harmer’s ignorance might draw a smile from all of us with more intimate knowledge of China’s tumultuous rock scene and the JUE Festival, one can’t blame him too much. Since the release of Codes and Keys, the band’s seventh studio album last May, Death Cab for Cutie has been on tour.

Harmer recalls the most memorable night of the tour so far being “in Las Vegas of all places. We got booked to play at a casino called The Cosmopolitan last summer. They have a swimming pool that they drain every night and turn into a venue. The whole band was really apprehensive, and we thought the whole show would be a disaster, but it ended up being a blast. That show is particularly fixed in my mind because I was certain it would be terrible. That’s one of the things I love about touring – when you’re pleasantly surprised by a show.”

The grind of playing night after night can cause many bands to lose focus, but Harmer says that this time around the band has taken several steps to keep things fresh.

“The first thing we’re doing is playing in new places. This tour is going to take us through Australia, Asia and New Zealand – all places we’ve never been. Whenever you get to play your music in a new place, there are new architectures and things all over the place for you to react to; it’s not just you and your presentation. The other thing I’m excited about is that this spring we’re going to tour with an orchestra in the US. We’ll have strings on almost the whole set!”

Codes and Keys marks a departure of the band musically, in some ways shirking its long time mantle as a band concerned with the darker sides of relationships, translating emotional misery into melodic beauty.

“The most notable difference is that this album has a lot more hope in the music. There are moments of optimism and some really good open love songs on the record.”

Turning this kind of positive light on the music has the potential to alienate some of the band’s fans, but Harmer asserts that it’s a natural development for the band.

“We’re more striving to be a band about honesty more than being a band about a particular thing. It would be strange now in our mid-30s to be writing about material and events that were concerns of ours 15 years ago. I’d feel limited and stunted by that.”

Although the band is committed to changing and growing in terms of its sound, there are some things that still remain the same for Death Cab for Cutie.

Harmer reflects on the band’s success saying, “We never had any designs [to make it as a band]. We never said we’re going to be a career band for 15-20 years. We all still laugh about it sometimes. The four of us look at each other, and we feel like four guys who are still trying to figure out a way to make rent.”

Death Cab for Cutie. 9 March, 8pm. RMB 360 (RMB 290 presale). Yunfeng Theatre. 1700 Beijing Xi Lu, near Jiaozhou Lu.

“We feel like four guys who are still trying to figure out a way to make rent.”

WIN!

Talk is giving away four tickets to Death Cab for Cutie’s show on 9 March. For your chance to win a pair of tickets, email [email protected] with the name of the song for which the band filmed a live video.