Last night, for about an hour and a half at a small club in Chicago, I fell completely and utterly in love with Ben Gibbard.

I'm embarrassed to admit it. I've seen Ben Gibbard perform solo, and I remember scoffing at the young indie girls gazing adoringly as he serenaded us with only his guitar. Sure, his voice is wonderful- so sweet and soothing. And the music is amazing. But still, I refused to be one of *those* girls. Besides, he's not even that cute. But for some reason, from the moment the band came on stage and plunged right into Title Track until they wrapped things up with 405, I knew things had changed between us. Maybe the addition of the full band provided Ben with more passion than he was capable of conveying alone. Maybe it was the way he rocked back and forth with his guitar for every song, whether it was the slow melancholy of Title Track or the fast-paced hostility of Why You'd Want to Live Here. Maybe it's the fact that he somehow managed to play my favorite song from each of Death Cab's four albums; how could he possibly have known? Whatever the cause, I had no choice but to give in as I enjoyed one of the best concerts I'd seen in a long time.

I spent the week leading up to the concert listening to my advance copy of their new album, Transatlanticism; I was sure the concert was going to be heavy on songs from this CD. While I don't think it's quite as good as their previous material, it has continued to grow on me with each listen. Without a doubt, hearing these songs live made me like it even more; even the title track, Transatlanticism, which I find to be a bit long-winded on the album, had me absolutely mesmerized with it's constant refrain, "I want you so much closer," in ways that didn't come across to me on the CD. The pop glory of The Sound of Settling had the whole audience singing "Ba-baaaa," myself included. My favorite track, Title and Registration, featured a great guitar line by guitarist Chris Walla. Meanwhile, bassist Nick Harmer played as if his life depended on it; I've never seen anyone rock so hard on a bass, especially since Death Cab's music isn't always, well, "rocking."

Though there was a bit of emphasis on the new album, Death Cab made sure to give us songs from their entire musical catalogue; in fact, Transatlanticism songs didn't even appear in the set list until four or five songs into the show. At least four songs were played from each album, leading to a concert that lasted a wonderfully fulfilling hour and a half. I could definitely have stayed and listened for an hour more. Seeing Death Cab live reminded me why I love their music so much; from the moment I heard For What Reason a little over a year ago, their songs have continued to be incredibly meaningful to me, and hearing them performed live somehow brought out feelings I didn't think I was capable of. I left the concert feeling more content than I had in a long time. And while my newfound love for Ben faded as the hours after the concert passed and my emotions returned to normal levels, for that short period of time I was able to let myself completely go to the power of a song written by Ben Gibbard and the intense beauty that is Death Cab for Cutie.

-Nicole