lthough it was vividly apparent that the predominantly adolescent crowd at In the Venue—formerly and fondly known to Salt Lake City concertgoers as Brick’s—on Tuesday night was there to see Pacific Northwestern alternative crooners, Death Cab for Cutie, the lesser-known opening act put on an equally worthy show.

+/- (Plus/Minus)—the opening act, and, yes, the parenthetical is actually part of the band’s name—is a reference to a practice in hockey of determining a player’s worth, and an homage to the importance of sidemen in lead singer James Baluyut’s band. The melodic New York City garage-rock outfit’s sound is a mix of electronic beats and raw, inspired guitar rhythms.

The band used to be best known for the fact that several of its members once played together in indie-rock darlings Versus—lead singer Baluyut was in the band with his brothers. But with a convoluted pop sensibility all its own, and with some amazingly out-there songs, the band is quickly earning a name for itself that requires no comparisons.

+/- (Plus/Minus)’s live show is a turned-up, broken-down amalgam of keyboard interjections, innovative and persistent bass lines, narrative lyrics, distorted guitar and shifting tones that is impressive to behold. The highlight of the +/- (Plus/Minus) set was the song “Surprise!” as Baluyut sang in a sweet tenor about an emotionally bereft lover while his bandmates backed him with impeccably sophisticated instrumentation.

Not to be outdone by its opening band, however, headliners Death Cab for Cutie, Barsuk Records’ ambient rockers from Seattle—“The birthplace of grunge music, and f***ing proud of it,” as lead singer Ben Gibbard joked during his band’s set—also did its best to rock the roof off In the Venue.

Death Cab for Cutie has seen a resurgence in popularity recently as Gibbard’s side project—the instantly addicting and increasingly popular Sub-Pop Records group The Postal Service—has gained hype and support in the music world.

Word has it that the other members of Death Cab have been getting upset because crowds at their shows have been requesting songs from Gibbard’s similar-sounding side band.

This time around, however, Death Cab managed to avoid The Postal Service stigma. There were no fans shouting requests for The Postal Service’s first single, ‘The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” What the fans did ask for—and what they certainly received—was a healthy set of ambient, emotional rock, as per Death Cab’s specialty.
Fan favorites such as an awesome, slowed-down version of the song “405” and an intimate rendition of the already personal “Phonebooth” left the crowd screaming for more, which the band delivered in the form of a mellow three-song encore. It was then that the concert’s highlight came as Gibbard put his guitar down and sat behind the keyboard for the simplest, most haunting cover of Cindy Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” heard in a long while.
eryn@red-mag.com