Seeing The Postal Service & Death Cab for Cutie Live in DC
Traveling to Washington, DC for an unforgettable concert - September 2023
It all started in December of 2022, when The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie announced they were going to do a 20th-anniversary tour for the albums Give Up and Transatlanticism.
Even though they weren’t coming to Florida, I quickly signed up to get the pre-sale code. They were going to perform in Washington, DC, and this was worth traveling for.
I set a reminder and got in the virtual queue as soon as it opened up… and watched hundreds of seats at the Merriweather Post Pavilion slip out of reach. Every time I chose a seat, it was already snatched up. In minutes, the lower half of the venue was all but grayed out in unavailability.
Luckily, they added more DC dates to the beginning of the tour at the Anthem — a venue with tons of general admission tickets. I snagged one as quickly as I could.
I had approximately nine months to figure out the rest of my plans.
In the end, said plans became a wild 24-hour trip to Washington, DC.
I flew into DCA and took the train into the city just hours before the concert. After checking into my hostel, I took another train to the National Mall to walk from there to the Wharf — where the concert venue, the Anthem, is located.
The Anthem has three levels of viewing, and I found a great place to stand on the third level that was close to the stage. There were two rows of seating below the standing section, so no one was standing in front of me. (At 4'11", concerts can be a real hit-or-miss experience.)
Lauren Mayberry came on first, opening with a variety of upbeat songs and emotional ballads. I may have added Are You Awake? to a playlist or two.
Death Cab for Cutie was next, playing their album, Transatlanticism. I was looking forward to songs like Title and Registration and Expo ’86, but the song I was most looking forward to was Transatlanticism itself.
The near 8-minute masterpiece is one that I have been singing since high school. And I had always wondered what the experience would be like to sing this at a concert, along with thousands of fans.
I can’t even describe how it was everything I imagined and yet so much more.
I need you so much closer / So come on, come on
The Postal Service came on after a quick break — the band members decked out in all-white outfits. The crowd was already wild. Had it really been ten years since their last formal performance?
I feel like I was part of an iconic moment standing in Washington, DC, as they opened with The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.
DC sleeps alone tonight
The crowd cheered and sang along to the most well-loved lines.
Nothing Better was a playful duet between Ben Gibbard and Jenny Lewis.
Clark Gable was energetic and snappy, with thousands of people clapping along to the beat.
We Will Become Silhouettes is a personal favorite that I’ve always found heartwarming and nostalgic despite the subject matter.
The show ended with an acoustic encore of Such Great Heights and a cover of Depeche Mode’s Enjoy the Silence.
I wandered out of the Anthem with a new tour t-shirt in hand and walked with the crowd toward the metro. The crowd eventually petered out in different directions, and I reached the metro station to take the green line back to U Street.
Looking back, the experience was as dream-like as some of the beats and melodies these bands are known for.
Feel free to check out my Spotify playlist for this tour.
Have you ever traveled to see a band you really like? Are you a fan of Death Cab or The Postal Service? Let me know in the comments!