UPDATE: As of May 28, Ben's taking a break from his streams for a while. While you wait for the next one, you can watch the previous 23 streams below, including plenty of fan favorites and deep cuts from all over his career (Death Cab, The Postal Service, ¡All-Time Quarterback!, solo, and more), and tons of awesome covers, including an all-Beatles set and covers of Bjork, Guided by Voices, Depeche Mode, Nirvana, Neil Young, Fountains of Wayne, Simon & Garfunkel, The Cure, Spiritualized, R.E.M., The Magnetic Fields, Morrissey, Phoebe Bridgers, The Shins, Rilo Kiley, The Flaming Lips, Elliott Smith, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Big Star, Frightened Rabbit, The Decemberists, Joy Division/New Order, Radiohead, and more.
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Original post...
Joining the many musicians combatting the absence of concerts due to coronavirus with livestreaming is Death Cab For Cutie and Postal Service frontman Ben Gibbard. Ben will be broadcasting solo performances from his home studio everyday at 7 PM Eastern, and he's "hoping to take some requests and maybe even have a guest or two stop by digitally." Here's his full announcement:
Hey Everyone,
I know you are all really freaked out right now. I am too. And while I’m proud that we’re all doing the necessary things at the moment to help flatten the curve, I know it has left us all incredibly isolated.
But because we’re all going through this nightmare together we are quite literally NOT alone. Our lives and stories are all linked, maybe more now than they have ever been.
Be it with DCFC, Postal Service, or solo I have always been grateful for the honor you have bestowed upon us by choosing to congregate en masse around our music. Some of you have traveled great distances and/or shelled out large sums of money to see us play and that has never been lost on me. So in this crazy and unprecedented time, I’d like to return the favor by coming to YOU.
For the next few weeks I will be playing songs everyday from my home studio. We will be streaming on YouTube at 4pm PST daily. We’re still working out the details but I’m hoping to take some requests and maybe even have a guest or two stop by digitally. The first show will be tomorrow. It will assuredly be a little wonky and glitchy but we’re gonna do our best.
See You Tomorrow.
xo
Ben
UPDATE (3/29): Ben's daily livestreams are over, but from now on he'll be doing them once a week on Thursdays at 7 PM ET, starting April 2.
UPDATE (5/14): Starting in June, Ben's streams will move from weekly to something "a little less frequent."
Watch all of Ben's streams and see the setlist for each one below...
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DAY 1: The day one stream is a wrap, and if you missed it you can watch the archived stream and see the setlist below.
Day one setlist
We Will Become Silhouettes (The Postal Service song)
A Lack of Color (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Title Track (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Northern Lights (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Crooked Teeth (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Cath... (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Grapevine Fires (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Fake Plastic Trees (Radiohead cover)
California Zephyr (Jay Farrar & Ben Gibbard song)
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (The Postal Service song)
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DAY 2: The day two stream is a wrap. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day two setlist
No Room in Frame (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Teardrop Windows
Title and Registration (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Technicolor Girls (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Codes and Keys (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Passenger Seat (Death Cab for Cutie song)
When We Drive (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Me and Magdalena (The Monkees song, written by Ben)
Ceremony (Joy Division/New Order cover)
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service song)
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DAY 3: The day three stream is a wrap. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day three setlist
St. Peter's Cathedral (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Photobooth (Death Cab for Cutie song)
405 (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Little Wanderer (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Brothers on a Hotel Bed (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Soul Meets Body (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Talking Bird (Death Cab for Cutie song)
60 & Punk (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Grace Cathedral Hill (The Decemberists cover)
Broken Yolk In Western Sky
The Sound of Settling (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Day 4: Day four is a wrap. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day four setlist
Steadier Footing (Death Cab for Cutie song)
You Remind Me of Home
Why You'd Want to Live Here (Death Cab for Cutie song)
When the Sun Goes Down
These Roads Don't Move (Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard cover)
Coney Island (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Keep Yourself Warm (Frightened Rabbit cover)
Life in Quarantine (new benefit single)
Something's Rattling (Cowpoke)
Brand New Colony (The Postal Service song)
Day 5: Day five is a wrap. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day five setlist
Lady Adelaide
Recycled Air (The Postal Service song)
Your New Twin Sized Bed (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Williamine (Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard song)
A Movie Script Ending (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Your Hurricane (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Your Heart Is An Empty Room (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Carolina
I Will Follow You into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Day 6: Day six was an all-covers set. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day six setlist
Isolation (John Lennon cover)
Silver Lining (Rilo Kiley cover)
Thirteen (Big Star cover)
Waltz #2 (Elliott Smith cover)
Motion Sickness (Phoebe Bridgers cover)
If Not For You (Bob Dylan cover)
New Slang (The Shins cover)
Hysteria (Def Leppard cover)
"Bones" (I Think You Should Leave cover)
Do You Realize?? (The Flaming Lips cover)
Day 7: Day 7's set pulled exclusively from material Death Cab released between 1997 and 2001. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day seven setlist
Champagne from a Paper Cup (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Debate Exposes Doubt (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Scientist Studies (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Wait (The Secret Stars cover)
Company Calls Epilogue (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Cleveland (¡All-Time Quarterback! song)
(This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Dntel cover)
Blacking Out the Friction (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Line of Best Fit (Death Cab for Cutie song)
I Was a Kaleidoscope (Death Cab for Cutie song)
No Joy in Mudville (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The Face That Launched 1000 Shits (The Revolutionary Hydra cover)
Day 8: Day 8 pulled from 2003-2005. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day eight setlist
Transatlanticism (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Someday You Will Be Loved (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Farmer Chords
This Place Is a Prison (The Postal Service song)
Couches in Alleys (Styrofoam cover)
Sleeping In (The Postal Service song)
Summer Skin (Death Cab for Cutie song)
What Sarah Said (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Title and Registration (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Marching Bands of Manhattan (Death Cab for Cutie song)
I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Day 9: Day 9's set featured songs from 2007-2011. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day nine setlist
You Can Do Better Than Me (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Unobstructed Views (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Little Bribes (Death Cab for Cutie song)
A Diamond and a Tether (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Where Our Destination Lies
Cath... (Death Cab for Cutie song)
One Fast Move or I'm Gone (Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard song)
Grapevine Fires (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Bixby Canyon Bridge (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Stay Young, Go Dancing (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Day 10: Day 10's set featured songs from 2012 to present. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day ten setlist
Ingénue (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Autumn Love (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Hold No Guns (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Lily
It's Never Too Late
Binary Sea (Death Cab for Cutie song)
December (Teenage Fanclub cover)
Man in Blue (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Northern Lights (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Black Sun (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Day 11: Day 11's set featured the top 10 most voted-on songs by fans. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day eleven setlist
Title and Registration (Death Cab for Cutie song)
A Lack of Color (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Tiny Vessels (Death Cab for Cutie song)
We Looked Like Giants (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (The Postal Service song)
I Will Possess Your Heart (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Soul Meets Body (Death Cab for Cutie song)
I Will Follow You Into the Dark (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Transatlanticism (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service song)
Day 12: Day 12's set was a dealer's choice set, no requests. Archived stream and setlist below.
Day twelve setlist:
Me and Magdalena (The Monkees cover)
Underwater! (Death Cab for Cutie song)
El Dorado (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Duncan, Where Have You Gone?
Stable Song (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Summer Years (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Life in Quarantine
St. Swithin's Day (Billy Bragg cover)
I'm Building a Fire
Day 13: Like the previous Sunday, day 13's set was all covers. Though this was the last of the daily livestreams, he mentioned he'll continue doing them weekly at 9 7 PM ET starting Thursday, April 2. (Update: April 2 was at 9 PM ET, but going forward these will be at 7 PM ET.)
Day thirteen setlist
Half a World Away (R.E.M. cover)
Just Like Heaven (The Cure cover)
Everyday Is Like Sunday (Morrissey cover)
Out of Touch (Hall & Oates cover)
Strange Powers (The Magnetic Fields cover)
Harvest Moon (Neil Young cover)
Please Don't Tell Me How the Story Ends (Kris Kristofferson cover)
The Only Living Boy In New York (Simon & Garfunkel cover)
Hold On (Spiritualized cover)
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From April 2 onwards, Ben is doing his livestreams Thursdays at 7 PM ET. We'll keep you updated on those as they happen as well...
April 2
Ben paid tribute to Adam Schlesinger with a Fountains of Wayne cover tonight. Archived stream and setlist:
4/2 setlist
Lightness (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Everything’s a Ceiling (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The Ghosts of Beverly Drive (Death Cab for Cutie song)
A Hard One to Know
When We Drive (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Passenger Seat (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Pictures in an Exhibition (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Barbara H. (Fountains of Wayne cover)
Song for Kelly Huckaby (Death Cab for Cutie song)
April 9
Ben is played all songs from We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes, and told stories about the era. Stream and setlist below.
4/9 setlist
Title Track (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The Employment Pages (Death Cab for Cutie song)
For What Reason (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Lowell, MA (Death Cab for Cutie song)
405 (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Little Fury Bugs (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Company Calls (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Company Calls Epilogue (Death Cab for Cutie song)
No Joy in Mudville (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Scientist Studies (Death Cab for Cutie song)
April 16
Ben's 4/16 set included a Neil Young cover, plenty of Death Cab classics, and more.
4/16 setlist
Your Heart Is an Empty Room (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Autumn Love (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Styrofoam Plates (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Williamine (Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard song)
Man in Blue (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Grapevine Fires (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Photobooth (Death Cab for Cutie song)
A Movie Script Ending (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Don't Cry No Tears (Neil Young & Crazy Horse cover)
April 23
Ben's 4/23 set was an all-piano set, and it included covers of Nirvana and Tom T. Hall, a new song, and more.
4/23 setlist
Unobstructed Views (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Passenger Seat (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The Ice Is Getting Thinner (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Tulsa Telephone Book (Tom T. Hall cover)
Binary Sea (Death Cab for Cutie song)
What Sarah Said (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Proxima B (new song)
All Apologies (Nirvana cover)
Blacking Out the Friction (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Soul Meets Body (Death Cab for Cutie song)
April 30
Ben's 4/30 set included a Depeche Mode cover and more.
4/30 setlist
Monday Morning (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The District Sleeps Alone Tonight (The Postal Service song)
Your Hurricane (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Jealousy Rides With Me (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Life in Quarantine
You've Haunted Me All My Life (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Someday You Will Be Loved (Death Cab for Cutie song)
The Things You Said (Depeche Mode cover)
I Will Follow You Into The Dark (Death Cab for Cutie song)
May 7 (all Beatles)
May 7 was an all-Beatles cover set, and Ben mostly steered clear of the band's biggest hits, and did a set of personal favorites that worked well in an intimate solo performance.
5/7 setlist
I'm So Tired
For No One
I'm Happy Just to Dance With You
Here, There and Everywhere
I'm Only Sleeping
You Won't See Me
I Will
I'm Looking Through You
In My Life
May 14
Tonight's set was made up of songs that have either opened or closed albums in Ben's discography. Archived video and setlist below.
5/14 setlist
Blue Bloods (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Little Bribes (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Bend to Squares (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Natural Anthem (The Postal Service song)
Send Packing (¡All-Time Quarterback! song)
No Room in Frame (Death Cab for Cutie song)
California Zephyr (Jay Farrar & Benjamin Gibbard cover)
Title Track (Death Cab for Cutie song)
60 & Punk (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Marching Bands of Manhattan (Death Cab for Cutie song)
May 21
Tonight's set included a Guided by Voices cover. Archived stream and setlist below.
5/21 setlist
Sleep Spent (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Teardrop Windows
When the Sun Goes Down
Title and Registration (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Photobooth (Death Cab for Cutie song)
A Lack of Color (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Don't Stop Now (Guided by Voices cover)
Brand New Colony (The Postal Service song)
It's Never Too Late
May 28
Tonight's set was the last one for a while, and it included a Bjork cover. Archived stream and setlist below.
5/28 setlist
St. Peter's Cathedral (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Expo '86 (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Brothers on a Hotel Bed (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Your Bruise (Death Cab for Cutie song)
No Room in Frame (Death Cab for Cutie song)
This Place Is a Prison (The Postal Service song)
Champagne From a Paper Cup (Death Cab for Cutie song)
Proxima B
405 (Death Cab for Cutie song)
All Is Full of Love (Björk cover)