All Points East 2024 always felt like it was building towards this. A full day leaning into indie, a crowd that knew exactly what they were there for, and a closing set from Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service that had been circled in calendars for months.
Earlier in the day, there was enough going on to keep things interesting before the nostalgia really kicked in. Everything Everything drew one of the bigger daytime crowds, their set tight, restless and packed with energy, the kind that keeps pulling people in rather than letting them drift off elsewhere . It felt modern, sharp, and a reminder of how far indie has moved on.
Whilst we had initial scepticism about an early outdoor set (instead of a later tent set), Wednesday brought something completely different. Slower, heavier, more grounded. Their set cut through without needing to push too hard, more about atmosphere than big moments, and it landed because of that.
Then there was Luvcat, tucked earlier on the bill but impossible to ignore. There’s a looseness to what they do that works live, slightly chaotic in places but never messy, and it gave the early part of the day a bit of personality before the bigger names took over.
By the time evening rolled around, the focus had shifted completely.
Death Cab For Cutie opened with Transatlanticism, and whatever doubts there were about how this would translate to a festival disappeared pretty quickly. “The New Year” landed instantly, and from there it just carried on. These songs have been around long enough that they don’t need dressing up, they just need to be played properly, and they were.
Tracks like “The Sound of Settling” and “We Looked Like Giants” still hit in the same way, and the title track stretched out into something that felt bigger than the setting. By the time they closed with “A Lack of Color”, it didn’t feel like a nostalgia set, it just felt like a good one.
Fifteen minutes later, everything shifted.
The Postal Service walked on, all white outfits, softer lighting, and a completely different tone. Where Death Cab leaned inward, Give Up opened things up. More electronic, lighter on its feet, but still carrying the same weight underneath.
Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello, and Jenny Lewis kept it simple. Lewis especially stood out, particularly on “Nothing Better”, giving the set a bit more movement and personality.
Playing albums front to back can feel awkward live, and Give Up isn’t immune to that. Opening with “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight” and “Such Great Heights” feels like jumping straight to the peak. But they worked around it, bringing “Such Great Heights” back later in a stripped-back version that landed just as well the second time.
They closed with a full-band cover of “Enjoy the Silence”, with members of Death Cab joining in. It was a bit loose, a bit chaotic, but it worked as a finish.
Ben Gibbard will never have another year like 2003, but nights like this show why it still carries so much weight. Not just because of nostalgia, but because the songs have actually lasted.
