Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service co-headline a return to early 2000s at Bridgestone

Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service delivered co-headlining sets Monday night at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. The two bands came together to celebrate the 20-year anniversaries of two of their hit albums.

The bands, both fronted by singer and guitarist Ben Gibbard, each played for around an hour, performing songs from albums they released in 2003.

And though the two acts share a lead singer, the night's co-headliners couldn't have felt more different.

Death Cab for Cutie, an alternative rock group from Washington state, features bassist Nick Harmer, guitarist Dave Depper, keyboardist Zac Rae and drummer Jason McGerr. Gibbard formed the band in 1997 and originally intended it to be a solo project before it took off, growing a following of its own.

The band's fourth album, "Transatlanticism," which they celebrated on Monday night, skyrocketed the group to fame with songs "The South of Settling," "Title and Registration" and "Transatlanticism."

Now, the band is best known for the 2005 songs "I Will Follow You into the Dark" and "Soul Meets Body."

Gibbard also created the Postal Service in Seattle around 2001. The indie-electronic music group features singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis and Jimmy Tamborello — also known by the stage name Dntel — an electronic musician and DJ.

Unlike Death Cab for Cutie, which has released 10 studio albums together, the Postal Service has only released one full-length studio album: "Give Up."

The 2003 album includes hits "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," "Nothing Better" and "Such Great Heights."

The two bands announced their co-headlining tour at the end of 2022, marking what would soon become the Postal Service's first live performances together in over a decade.

The 20th Anniversary Tour: "Give Up" and "Transatlanticism" kicked off in September and was extended into 2024. The bands have hit stadiums from Los Angeles to New York, Georgia and Florida and will continue touring into May.

Opener Slow Pulp, an indie rock band, hit the stage Monday ahead of the co-headliners.

At 8:30 p.m., Death Cab took to the stage, playing the "Transatlanticism"album in full.

An hour later, after Gibbard took just a 15-minute break, the Postal Service performed "Give Up"in full.

Here's a rundown of both sets.

Death Cab for Cutie showcases emo-alt rock and stirring ballads

Death Cab started the evening out with "The New Year." The band wore all black in a simple, uniform look.

The stage was set up like an amphitheater, with a relatively bare arrangement. Aside from some fun strobe lights, the band didn't hide behind fancy sets, pyrotechnics or smoke and mirrors. The evening was intentionally focused on the music.

"We got into your lovely town last night," Gibbard told the crowd. "Lot of bachelorette parties. I was warned ... even more than that. It was a sight to behold."

As the band cycled through the 11 songs on "Transatlanticism," Gibbard grabbed the mic as he crouched down to fans, swayed back and forth and stomped to the beat.

His voice was crisp, clean and expressive. Fans could understand every lyric out of his mouth as he hit each syllable and note with equal importance.

He sang emotively, equally fueling his more pop-punk hits and the slower, stirring ballads.

On "Passenger Seat," Gibbard flipped into falsetto and hit some soft high notes as he was backlit by a blue spotlight. The moody song featured Gibbard with piano accompaniment.

"Expo '86" brought the arena to a stir with pink and white spotlight strobes and rocking bass reverberations as both Gibbard and Depper hit guitar licks.

One of the band's most notable songs of the evening was the album's title track, "Transatlanticism." The tune started with a stripped-back opening, featuring Gibbard, the keys and drums. Slowly, the bassist and guitarist appeared onstage and built upon the song's momentum.

The crowd flashed their phone flashlights and sang along with harmonies from Gibbard and Depper: "I need you so much closer / I need you so much closer ... So come on, come on."

Notably absent from the evening's performance were songs from outside of "Transatlanticism." Hits "I Will Follow You into the Dark" and "Soul Meets Body" were not performed.

The Postal Service delivers electronic-pop bliss

During Death Cab for Cutie's set, the crowd — a mixed bag of millennials and families — mostly sat and enjoyed the tunes quietly. This changed when the Postal Service began their performance.

As electronic riffs filled the arena, the audience stood up and danced and clapped. Members of the Postal Service walked on stage wearing all white, as if to signal to the audience: We're changing it up here.

For those not familiar with the Postal Service, their Nashville set sounded like a combination of LCD Soundsystem, Sylvan Esso and MGMT ... mixed with Death Cab, of course.

They started with "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight," which featured electric riffs and running lights synced to techno pulses.

Nashville's own singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis supported Gibbard on a number of instruments, from guitar to bass, percussion and keys. She also layered some breathy backup vocals and harmonies.

The electronic elements are provided by DJ Jimmy Tamborello, a decorated electronic pop artist who has played with multiple bands and cultivated a solo career as "Dntel." Tamborello's arsenal of synths, drum machines and more had fans jumping along as if they were in a dance club.

Ahead of "Nothing Better," Gibbard said, "This may not sound like it, but this is a country song."

The song, which sounds like a purely indie-electronic hit, is a rich, story-telling duet between Lewis and Gibbard. The lyrics, as Gibbard said, could've been a country song in another universe.

They sang: "Tell me, am I right to think that there could be nothing better / Than making you my bride and slowly growing old together?"

The band's other hits, "Clark Gable" and "Brand New Colony," also stole the show Monday night.

Toward the end of the set, Gibbard said: "When we put these records out 20 years ago, and we came for your town, we played little tiny places. We never in a million years thought that 20 years later we would still be playing these songs, but even further than that, we'd be playing them in an arena in Nashville.

"And the only reason we are here is because of you," Gibbard continued. "Because these records still matter to you. And that is one of the most humbling things for us to experience. And we are so grateful you are here."

Encore: 'Such Great Heights' and Depeche Mode cover

For the encore, Lewis and Gibbard sang "Such Great Heights" with an acoustic twist, inspired by the Iron and Wine cover of the song. The stage was bare as Gibbard played the acoustic guitar and the two harmonized.

Afterward, the other members of the bands filed onstage and combined Death Cab's alternative-indie rock sound with the Postal Service's electronica as they covered Depeche Mode's "Enjoy the Silence."

The cover brought the talents of both bands together effortlessly, tying up the night with the '90s crowd-pleaser.

Afterward, all members of both bands bowed together, expressing gratitude to the Nashville crowd.

Death Cab for Cutie and the Postal Service's Nashville set lists

Death Cab for Cutie:

"The New Year"

"Lightness"

"Title and Registration"

"Expo '86"

"The Sound of Settling"

"Tiny Vessels"

"Transatlanticism"

"Passenger Seat"

"Death of an Interior Decorator"

"We Looked Like Giants"

"A Lack of Color"

The Postal Service:

"The District Sleeps Alone Tonight"

"Such Great Heights"

"Sleeping In"

"Nothing Better"

"Recycled Air"

"Clark Gable"

"We Will Become Silhouettes"

"This Place Is a Prison"

"Brand New Colony"

"Natural Anthem"

Encore:" Such Great Heights" (acoustic, inspired by Iron and Wine cover), "Enjoy the Silence" (Depeche Mode cover)

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Death Cab for Cutie, Postal Service in Nashville: Top moments