Snapshots: Ben Gibbard @ Emos

Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service fame played to a sweaty, sold-out crowd at a sweltering Emo's on Tuesday night.

Openers Jonathan Rice and David Bazan (Pedro the Lion) opened the acoustic evening with solid sets and a profuse thanks to Gibbard for giving them the opportunity to tour. Gibbard's set was comprised mostly of Death Cab favorites with a dose of Postal Service thrown in for good measure. In a night of familiar, albeit "unplugged" hits, the highlights were usually the covers. Bazan pulled out Dylan's "The Man in Me," satisfying the Big Lebowski fan in everyone, and Gibbard treated the audience to well enunciated surprising covers of Nirvana's "All Apologies," Radiohead's "Let Down," and American Analog Set's "The Postman." Keeping things topical, a sweaty and fired-up Gibbard commented on the death of Moral Majority founder Jerry Falwell, saying "That lying, racist, hate mongering, bigoted, homophobic sack of $#!&... I bet he's going to find out heaven's a lot hotter than he thought it'd be." Well played, Mr. Gibbard.