Death Cab For Cutie’s sometimes-slow studio material has turned off some impatient listeners, but the band’s live show proved they know how to rock.

At their sold-out Nov. 26 performance at Milwaukee’s Eagles Ballroom, Death Cab played with special guests OK Go. Expanding on their studio work, DCFC offered audience members a look at the band’s multifaceted musical talent along with in-depth interpretations of songs new and old.

Setting the tone of the performance early on, Death Cab rounded out the first quarter of its set with the Los Angeles-bashing “Why You’d Want To Live Here.” Playing the song with an over-arcing crescendo, Death Cab revealed what could be expected from the rest of the show. This build-up continued through the end of their main-set closer, “Transatlanticism.”

Despite the buzz drawn to the band over their newer material, DCFC chose many unexpected selections from their older catalogue of music. The band played multiple songs from both “Photo Booth” (2001) and “We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes” (2000).

By employing songs like their opener “405,” “Company Calls” and “Photo Booth,” along with recent radio favorites like “Soul Meets Body” and “Crooked Teeth,” the band was able to please both longtime fans and casual listeners.

Fans of intimate concerts driven by audience participation were no doubt disappointed, however, as little was said between songs and the band seemed unconcerned with building an audience rapport. This was the weak point in the performance.

Audience members were obviously meeting their end of the bargain, sometimes singing along loudly enough to be audible above the speakers. But despite making themselves accessible to the band, the Milwaukee audience was treated like just another tour stop.

Making each crowd in each town feel unique must be extremely difficult, but a seasoned band like Death Cab for Cutie should be able to get the job done.

Conversely, the most enjoyable part of the band’s live performance was the showcase of musicality. The general aesthetic and lesser time constraint of the live performance allowed the band to expand on musical concepts and ideas introduced on their studio recordings.

This phenomenon was most readily observable in “We Looked Like Giants,” off of “Transatlanticism,” which the band fleshed out into a jam that probably eclipsed the 10-minute mark.

“Giants” also showed the members’ musical talent through instrument swapping and solos. Frontman and usual guitarist/vocalist Ben Gibbard switched to percussion as he rocked a second set of drums that had been brought out on stage specifically for the song. Gibbard wowed audience members with the spectacle of a grueling dueling drum duet between himself and usual drummer Jason McGerr.

While the entire show was quite satisfying, it was the encore that pushed the band’s live performance over the edge. Returning to the stage, Gibbard picked up an acoustic guitar and slowly plucked out “I’ll Follow You Into the Dark.” After the rest of the band joined him, they played “Marching Bands of Manhattan,” the opener from “Plans.”

The highlight of the encore, and quite possibly the entire show, was a cover of the song “I’m Going Home” by ’60s rock band The Sonics, whom Gibbard said were some of the best musicians to ever come out of the Pacific Northwest.

The rocked-out nature and room for guitar solos in “I’m Going Home” helped drive home the fact that when it comes down to it, Death Cab can rock.

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