show review: The Postal Service at Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY 6/14/13

Ben Gibbard, Jenny Lewis, and Jimmy Tamborello in an arena. I didn't really think that would ever happen. Me being about ten feet from the stage on which they were performing? Definitely didn't think that would happen. Yet, that was how I spent my Friday night.

First, a commentary on the Venue. I don't normally do arena shows, so I wasn't really sure what to expect as we headed up to NYC, but when we finally got to the venue (Barclays Center in Brooklyn, in case you missed that) I was astonished; not only did the venue look amazing inside and out, but the people that worked there were the nicest people I have ever encountered at any concert in my 26 years of attending concerts. They were genuinely happy to help us figure out where we needed to be, and even their demands were pleasant ones. "We need you guys to go home so we can clean our home!" It is definitely a venue I would revisit.

We (after asking 100 people what we were supposed to do) got our wristbands and made our way down to the floor, where everyone was sitting criss-cross-applesauce. After some deliberation on which side of the stage Jenny Lewis would be, we found a place to sit and plopped down. The kid in front of us quipped, "I feel like I'm in pre-school and we are about to have story time" and in my estimation, he hit the nail on the head. After sitting like children for a little while, we were allowed to stand and the opening act came out.

On the leg of the tour that we caught, the openers were a band called Mates of State. They are a male/female duo that has been on my radar for quite a while, but that I have never really gotten around to listening to, at least not actively. They weren't bad, but they also didn't leave a lasting enough impression on me for me to go out and seek out their catalog. After a few songs I found myself thinking, "alright, this is nice and all, but I am ready for Ben and Jenny!"

Eventually Ben, Jenny, Jimmy and some girl who's name I didn't catch and who didn't really matter much anyway finally made their way to the stage, and the arena erupted as if the Nets just won the NBA Championship. Most of us had been waiting 10 years to see this happen, and the excitement over it finally transpiring was too much to keep in.

The set consisted of everything from "Give Up," a few bonus tracks from the album, A Tattered Line of String, and a cover of a Beat Happening song, as well as a Dntel (Jimmy Tamborello's band) cover in the Encore. I liked that they didn't play the album front to back. At first I wasn't sure about that, but I realized that because we all knew basically what they were going to play (after all, they only have one album) it was nice to still have some element of surprise over what song was coming next.

The actual set-list was as follows:

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
We Will Become Silhouettes
Sleeping In
Turn Around
Nothing Better
Recycled Air
Be Still My Heart
Clark Gable
Our Secret (Beat Happening cover)
This Place Is A Prison
There's Never Enough Time
A Tattered Line Of String
Such Great Heights
Natural Anthem

Encore:
(This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chang (Dntel cover)
Brand New Colony

The band was having entirely too much fun up on that stage. It was clear that they all were having a really great time playing together, and that made the show that much more fun. One of the most memorable parts of the show for me was when Ben gave advice to all the budding musicians in the crowd. He said, "if you want to have a successful career, put out an album and then don't do anything for 10 years." Of course that got a round of cheers and laughter from the audience.

I guess that I am just a sucker for nostalgia, but seeing a band that I had been in love with for nearly ten years was a pretty special experience. Maybe one day I will tell you about all the silliness that went along with that day.