Going Postal with The Postal Service

Ah Red Rocks Amphitheater..... the second highest recommended thing to go see in the great state of Colorado by the Denver Post. Truly a miraculous setting. The massive rocks on either side of you perfectly balancing the acoustics of the outdoor amphitheater all while providing a cozy setting outside of Morrison, Colorado with a gorgeous view of the south Denver skyline. If you have never been to Red Rocks, you must go!! As I like to describe it: It's pretty much Colorado's version of Disney World... just with more pot.... But of course there are family friendly events and concerts, so don't worry too much about that.

Lewis (left) and Gibbard (right); (Not my photo)

Anyways, this summer is packed with awesome concerts coming to the Front Range. Last week, on May 30th, Ra Ra Riot played with The Postal Service at Red Rocks on a celebration tour for the ten year anniversary of their one and only album, Give Up. The Postal Service released Give Up in 2003 with vocalist Ben Gibbard (of Death Cab for Cutie) and producer Jimmy Tamborello (of Dntel and Headset) with Jenny Lewis (of Rilo Kiley) on background vocals/keyboards & samplers live. The band was entitled "The Postal Service" due to the way Gibbard and Tamborello collaborated on music which was by sending copies of the music via the United States Postal Service. The album was a great hit and developed almost a "cult" following which has sustained their name over the past ten years even without the release of a second album. Due to the fact that the members of the band were involved in other music groups, the prospect of creating a follow up to Give Up became more and more difficult until it was "officially announced" that there would be no second album.

Despite the band's minimal discography, the group re-united to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the album and embark on a world tour as well as release a new edition of Give Up complete with new rarities and two new bonus tracks that released on April 9th, 2013. Stops on this tour will include Red Rocks Amphitheater, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2013, the Primavera Sound Festival 2013 in Barcelona Sasquatch! Music Festival in Washington in May and Free Press Summer Fest in Houston in June.

Now, enough about background  let's get to the actual concert! As always, the theatrics of Red Rocks didn't disappoint. The Postal Service came with a flashy LED backdrop that gave off a very neon appearance and feel. My roommate and myself were fortunate enough to be close to the stage and had a great view (but let's be real... there are no bad seats at the Rocks). Ra Ra Riot opened the show and totally killed it. Opening bands are always a hidden treasure and I always feel bad for them because their greatness sometimes goes unnoticed due to the fact that they are the "openers." I've seen some pretty awesome openers like Feist and the High Highs and Ra Ra Riot now is up on that list too; check them out.

The Postal Service rolled out at about 8 o'clock right when the sun was about to go down and they played a two hour set. The played tracks from Give Up (obviously) and a couple songs I was not familiar with... perhaps the new rarities on the deluxe release? They had a very simple set up with four people. Gibbard was the clear front male vocalist and danced around with the electric guitar, drum set (when they weren't using the usual drum machine), and miscellaneous instruments. Lewis was the front female voice with a keyboard, miscellaneous auxiliary percussion and the occasional guitar... she even played the electric guitar with her mouth at one point!! I wasn't sure if I should have been impressed or disturbed quite honestly. Tamborello was vocals at times, but mainly he was the running the computers to give the band that characteristic pop-electronica sound. He also played this strange instrument that had keys like a wind instrument but had a tube that he blew air through to make noise. I have no idea what it was, but if you know, leave me a comment telling me what it is!  Then lastly, there was a fourth woman whose name escapes me but she was the synth master and vibraphone percussionist with the occasional vocal assist. Gibbard and Lewis are quite the theatric couple when they get together, however! If you are familiar with the Postal Service, you'll recall that many of the lyrics are exchanges between a girl and a guy character, some flirtatious, some heartbreaking, and others hoping for what could've been sort of things. Since the PS's music is electronically based, it freed up the two to dance around and interact with each other more than most vocalists get the chance to do. The two were very sassy with each other and very flirtatious, too (though no actual relationship is established to my knowledge).

The only thing I must critique about their performance was the evolution of their sound that has come from ten years of age. It was very minor and I think that maybe only seasoned Postal Service fans would have noticed the small alterations in the music, but that's just me being picky. However, I did notice that Lewis's voice is drastically different. I do not know if they did some studio work on it when the recorded back in 2003 or if she just sings differently now, but the live performance was definitely more nasally (sorry) and I felt that her performance was too flirtatious and almost seductive for the style and heart of the music. Perhaps my interpretation of the music as a fan is just too innocent, but that's just what I liked about it. Additionally, (again this is a super minor, picky thing) the LED lights were a little much at parts. This may have been because we were very close to the stage, but when the band played "Natural Anthem," they flashed the lights very rapidly and randomly during the extended intro to that song and I swore that someone was going to have a seizure. But hey, can't complain too much, because like I said, the lighting effects and theatrics are some of my favorite parts about Red Rocks.

Overall, solid concert. It was super sick to be able to be a part of this ten year anniversary tour for the Postal Service - a staple of the indie electronic music culture.