Unfortunately, Gibbard's enthusiasm about the ad hoc birthday party did not translate into a particularly inspired performance from his band. Death Cab for Cutie--a group that takes its unusual name from a Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band song featured in the Beatles film "Magical Mystery Tour"--is apparently still trying to figure out how to connect with crowds at larger venues.

Or, perhaps, they've figured it out and decided that they want no part of it. Either way, Death Cab for Cutie refused to join in any of the rock-star games on Friday that are necessary to sell an amphitheater show. The result was a somewhat dull, though beautifully played, evening of music.

Following opening sets by Mates of State and Spoon, two other indie-pop acts that had difficultly adapting their club-honed live shows to the larger venue, Death Cab for Cutie began its 20-song set with two soft piano numbers: "Passenger Seat" (from 2003's "Transatlanticism") and "Different Names for the Same Thing" (from last year's highly successful "Plans").

From there, the band made a nice sonic switch and hit the crowd with the anthemic "Transatlanticism" track "The New Year," then shot back to 2001's "The Photo Album" for "We Laugh Indoors."

The music sounded terrific--the mix was spot on in what can sometimes be an acoustically troublesome venue--as the band continued to march through the indie-pop gems "Title and Registration" (from "Transatlanticism"), "Crooked Teeth" (from "Plans") and "Photobooth" (from 2000's "The Forbidden Love" EP).

Gibbard was in fine form on the mic, especially during "Company Calls" (from 2000's "We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes"), which was also a particularly strong song for guitarist Chris Walla, who used the tune to deliver some tightly twisting leads. Plus, the rhythm section of bassist Nick Harmer and still-somewhat-new drummer Jason McGerr, who joined the band in time to record "Transatlanticism," really helped propel such big numbers as "The New Year" and the R.E.M.-esque single "Soul Meets Body."

The problems came in areas like stage-smarts and charisma--i.e., the band showed little of either.

Gibbard goes to great lengths to avoid being seen a rock star. He avoids the spotlight (both literally and figuratively), takes a very low-key approach at the mic, likes to keep his head down low when he's at the keyboards and positions himself far from the center of the stage. And that's just for starters.

Gibbard seems to want to just be another Joe in the band. While that might work in the studio, it doesn't make for a very engaging live show.

A strong front man is arguably the single most important thing to a band's ability to put on an entertaining concert at an amphitheater-size venue.

With Ben Gibbard, unfortunately, Death Cab for Cutie doesn't have one.

Setlist:

Passenger Seat
Different Names for the Same Thing
The New Year
We Laugh Indoors
Title and Registration
Crooked Teeth
Photobooth
Company Calls
Company Calls Epilogue
What Sarah Said
Your Heart is an Empty Room
A Movie Script Ending
Soul Meets Body
Expo '86
We Looked Like Giants
The Sound of Settling
Transatlanticism

Encore:
I Will Follow You into the Dark
I'm Going Home
Marching Bands of Manhattan