Death Cab for Cutie Taking Orchestra on Spring 2012 Tour

Indie veterans Death Cab for Cutie are days away from beginning their next tour -- and this time, they're bringing along an orchestra. Find the dates below.

Bellingham, Wash.'s favorite sons will be joined by San Franciso's Magik*Magik Orchestra, a versatile collection of classical players with a long resume of awesome collaborations: the orchestra was featured on Death Cab's latest album 'Codes and Keys' (they made those extra-pretty sounds on the title track) and worked some wizardry into John Vanderslice's 'Too Much Time.'

For a band that's been touring for as long as as consistently as Death Cab, the orchestra will bring some fresh air to old material, something bassist Nick Harmer is excited about:

"I know there's a couple songs that we've never played live. There's songs we've talked about doing or 'Wouldn't that be fun?' But we just haven't been able to do," he told The Omaha World-Herald. "The orchestra really frees your mind up from thinking, 'Ah, I don't know if we could do that. But maybe with a string arrangement, it could work.'"

Seeing Death Cab has always been a treat, and the shows will be doubly memorable to see with the expanded material.

"I've played 'Soul Meets Body' a thousand times, but never with an orchestra. It will be really exciting to play some of these songs we've done the same way so many times," Harmer said. "For songs like 'Codes and Keys,' the string part that we recorded, we used a sample. It sounds great, but I really can't wait to hear some of these parts we've been doing with a full orchestra."

Death Cab for Cutie & Magik*Magik Orchestra Tour Dates

4/10 – Denver, Colo. | Ellie Caulkins Opera House
4/11 – Omaha, Neb. | Omaha Music Hall
4/13 – Louisville, Ky. | Louisville Palace
4/14 – Grand Rapids, Mich. | Covenant Fine Arts Center
4/15 – Milwaukee, Wis. | Riverside Theatre
4/16 – Chicago, Ill. | Chicago Theatre
4/19 – Toronto, Ontario | Massey Hall
4/20 – Montreal, Quebec | Sr. Jean Baptiste Church
4/21 – Boston, Mass. | Citi Performing Arts Center
4/23 – Providence, R.I. | Veterans Memorial Auditorium
4/24 – Buffalo, N.Y. | Kleinhas Music Hall
4/25 – Upper Darby, Penn. | Tower Theatre
4/27 – New York, N.Y. | Beacon Theatre
4/30 – North Bethesda, Md. | Strathmore
5/1 – Knoxville, Tenn. | Tennessee Theatre
5/3 – Dallas, Texas  | McFarlin Memorial Auditorium
5/4 – Austin, Texas | ACL Live at the Moody Theater
5/6 – Mesa, Ariz. | Mesa Arts Center – Ikeda Theater
5/7 – Los Angeles, Calif. | Walt Disney Concert Hall
5/8 – Oakland, Calif. | Fox Theater
5/11 – Portland, Ore. | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hakk
5/13 – Seattle, Wash. | The Paramount Theatre