On the first official day of summer, underneath a nearly immaculate blue sky, Jenny Lewis and Death Cab For Cutie took the stage at Brewery Ommegang in Cooperstown. Jenny walked out on stage in a fully-sequined, rose gold gown – which is not important other than to say she appeared as larger-than-life as anticipated. Her voice seemed to transcend time and space as she floated effortlessly through tracks from this year’s On the Line. The icing on the cake was bringing Ben Gibbard out for a set-ending performance of The Traveling Wilbury’s ‘Handle With Care’.
Speaking of Gibbard, he and his four cab drivers walked out just before dusk, immediately jumping into Thank You For Today opener ‘I Dreamt We Spoke Again’. From there, we were treated to ninety minutes of pitch-perfect performances spanning almost twenty years of records. From their ‘hits’ (i.e. ‘Soul Meets Body’) to their deep cuts (i.e. ‘Styrofoam Plates’), each song demonstrated just how wide a reach they’ve had in their formidable career. The encore was worth the price of admission alone, beginning with the gorgeous ‘I Will Follow You Into the Dark’ in which the crowd overpowered Gibbard himself on every lyric. After a somewhat expected duet of The Postal Service’s ‘Nothing Better’, with Jenny herself, a firework show greeted show-closer, ‘Transatlanticism’, that capped off a special evening.
Words by TJ Foster
