June 18, 2013: The Postal Service

Concert Details:

Bands: The Postal Service, Ra Ra Riot
Location: Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD

1. The District Sleeps Alone Tonight
2. We Will Become Silhouettes
3. Sleeping In
4. Turn Around
5. Nothing Better
6. Recycled Air
7. Be Still My Heart
8. Clark Gable
9. Our Secret (Beat Happening Cover)
10. This Place is a Prison
11. There's Never Enough Time
12. A Tattered Line of String
13. Such Great Heights
14. Natural Anthem

Encore:

   15. (This Is) The Dream of Evan and Chan (Dntel cover)

   16. Brand New Colony 

This was the type of show that someone might wait a long time for, and for more than one reason.  The Postal Service is best described as an indie rock supergroup featuring the melding of the voices of Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley and Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie.  Having release only one new song since their reunion after eight years, it was pretty clear the songs that we were to expect from the show, but that did not make it any less wonderful.

For a band with only one album, The Postal Service has a large amount of amazing songs.  They started the show very strong with The District Sleeps Alone Tonight a song which is about DC and was a perfect song to open with in a crowd mostly full of people from DC suburbs.  One of the things that make The Postal Service album so strong is the dueling voices of Lewis and Gibbard.

The dueling voices is best utilized during Nothing Better, which was played 5th in the show where the story a couple fights.  It starts out with the guy pining for their relationship and complaining that the woman has abandoned him for someone else using some rather unique analogy to describe his loss and stating that the best thing he can imagine is being together forever.

It is at this point that Lewis joins in and goes on to explain why their relationship has to end, although he is reluctant.  The two play the part well and at various points stand across from each other swaying back and forth while each playing guitar in their own version of a tango, battling lyrically with each other to make their point heard.  It is this type of singing that makes their show wonderful and the songs ends with but ultimately he loses out and she says goodbye.

 The show continued strongly with each member taking the lead at various points.  At various points, each of them moved over the drum kit to play a small part while the other was singing.  Throughout the show both Lewis and Gibbard were very energetic almost as if they had taken a lot of caffeine prior and needed to excise it, for most of the show it appeared as if Gibbard was running in place on stage.

As the show continued the crowd ate up every single song thrown at them and peaked during the most popular of the remaining songs Such Great Heights where the energy of Gibbard and Lewis was perhaps even exceeded by that of the crowd.

For a year filled with wonderful shows at Merriweather this show was leagues above the rest and at that point in the year was the best big venue show I had attended.

A show like this makes one want to see either performer in any fashion, whether it be in their other bands, solo or hopefully, one day again as The Postal Service.