Death Cab for Cutie frontman Ben Gibbard has put on daily solo live stream shows for fans amid the global coronavirus outbreak. Confined in Washington due to the rapid spread of the virus, Gibbard plays his show at his home studio. The shows occur every day at 4 p.m. PST / 7 p.m. EST.
Fans can watch the live streams here, which also includes links to the YouTube and Facebook streams. Last week Gibbard live debuted his new song, “Life in Quarantine,” which now has a studio version that can be accessed on the live stream website.
Today, Gibbard will feature a setlist entirely made up of fan requests. The show will also benefit Americans for Immigrant Justice, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to elevate basic human rights.
Gibbard has been revamping his setlists by including themed sets each day. Over the past week, he’s been focusing on material from certain periods in Death Cab for Cutie’s lifetime.
Check out the highlights from the setlists below!
March 23 – Computerworld, Seattle, WA
This setlist focused on material from 1997 to 2001 only, including some missed oldies. He opened up with “Champagne from a Paper Cup,” which was also the first time the song has ever been performed live. Gibbard performed covers of “Wait” by the Secret Stars, “Cleveland” by All-Time Quarterback and closed the set with a cover of “The Face That Launched 1000 Shits.”
March 24 – Computerworld, Seattle, WA
Tuesday’s setlist included material from 2002 to 2005. Gibbard opened up with “Transatlanticism” before jumping into staple hits such as “Someday You Will Be Loved” and “Summer Skin.” He sprinkled songs by The Postal Service like “This Place Is a Prison” and “Sleeping In," and did a cover of “Couches in Alley” by Styrofoam.
The 11-song setlist contained other gems like “What Sarah Said,” “Title and Registration,” which has been performed over 500 times, “Marching Bands of Manhattan” and closing track “I Will Follow You into the Dark.”
March 25 – Computerworld, Seattle, WA
This set contained songs from 2007 to 2011. Gibbard opened up with “You Can Do Better Than Me,” before dishing out classics like “Unobstructed Views,” “Little Bribes,” and “A Diamond and a Tether.” He closed out the set with a deep cut track, “Stay Young, Go Dancing.”
March 26 – Computerworld, Seattle, WA
Last night, Gibbard performed a setlist filled entirely with Death Cab for Cutie tracks. He performed more of their recent songs between 2012 and 2020, including “Binary Sea,” “December” and “Man in Blue.”
He opened up the 10-song set with “Ingénue.” This was the first time the track has ever been played live. The opening track was followed by "Autumn Love," "Hold No Guns," which has only been performed once, and his own tracks "Lily" and "It's Never Too Late." The set closed with "Black Sun."
