Glasgow enjoys journey of a lifetime

“I speak with complete sincerity here,” Death Cab For Cutie's tousled lead singer Ben Gibbard coos tenderly, “when I say that the last night of the UK tour is happening in this city for a reason. It's not only beautiful but has such a wonderful musical heritage.

"It truly is an honour to play here,” he ends tenderly, before being enveloped in darkness for the soft, haunting intro of 'Grapevine Fires'. Already seven songs in, Gibbard's welcome is as wholehearted as it is humble, which, considering the zealous delivery of an intricately designed set-list, happens to be perfectly fitting.

An underwhelming support slot from Rotherham's Butcher The Bar inaugurated the night and though it's frustrating to be critical of a concoction of folk songs laden with various instruments, such experimentation failed to captivate in the way it should have. Instead, several genres spilled messily over each other, rendering their sound difficult to grasp and leaving it even more difficult to gain a notable impression of their potential. Their more pleasing, softer tracks are much like an effortless daydream – mellow and somewhat amusing, but unfortunately instantly forgotten.

Death Cab initiated their set with the lengthy 'I Will Possess Your Heart'; a wise decision as the prolonged four-minute intro carried, in its striking bass-line and complete absence of vocals, a remarkable weight of suspense for the night ahead. Enthusiastically making their way through 'Crooked Teeth', 'Why You'd Want To Live Here' and 'Photobooth', each member emitted a vigorous radiance (a quality not many bands can boast to have on the last night of their tour), or for that matter still possess after fourteen years of being together.

However, it wasn't until they tore into the faster-paced 'Doors Unlocked And Open' – complete with alternate microphones to provide Gibbard's gargling vocals – that the crowd matched their vitality. Gibbard retreated to the piano to deliver 'Codes And Keys' while their version of 'What Sarah Said' earned a rapturous response, which the lead singer felt compelled to show his gratification for afterwards.

Reminiscent of Bright Eyes' mesmerising performance of Lua at Coachella, Gibbard had the teeming O2 Academy crowd absolutely silent to beautifully deliver the incredibly emotive 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark', an occurrence bound to rank high among each fan's memorable moments.

The poignant performance, with only Gibbard on acoustic guitar, appeared to reinvigorate the whole band and the now-loosened and sweat-drenched lead singer exhilaratingly commanded Death Cab through the next five songs before slowing down the pace once more.

A rare rendition of 'Brothers On A Hotel Bed', an unsung hero from their album Plans, was delicately sung, providing the perfect balance of silvery harmonies and vibrant numbers. During the incendiary 'We Looked Like Giants', Gibbard used the extended outro to exhibit his other talents, briefly commandeering a second drum-kit before returning to his guitar to spiritedly see-out the song.

Ending on the emphatic 'Marching Bands of Manhattan', they left the audience salivating for the encore and dutifully returned with the subtle 'A Lack Of Colour'. Despite latest album Codes And Keys only being released in May of this year, 'Home Is A Fire' was only the third song from it to be played tonight, and 'Movie Script Ending' filled the gap of anticipation for Death Cab's own pièce de résistance, the inevitable Transatlanticism, which was, as expected, nothing short of outstanding.

With an incredible 24 songs in the set, Death Cab ensured their fan's hopes of hearing songs from each album in their back-catalogue were fulfilled. It didn't even matter that the exceptional 'Tiny Vessels' didn't feature, or that numbers from the new album, such as the gloriously child-like 'Monday Morning' or resounding 'St Peter's Cathedral', weren't included in order to demonstrate the masterful musical abilities Death Cab still proudly possess.

Gibbard was absolutely correct when he complimented Glasgow on its musical lineage, though it is necessary to remember that without bands such as Death Cab For Cutie consistently ensuring they deliver resolute, passionate, diverse sets like this, there quite simply wouldn't be one. And it was us, an exhausted and drenched crowd, that had the real honour.