Why I Am So Thankful For The Postal Service

There are things in life that you wish for so fervently, there is no way that they can do anything but disappoint you. And then, there are those very, very rare events that manage to be even better than you imagined they could be.

I, like a lot of people my age, fell in love with a band called The Postal Service when I was in high school. For the past ten years, I've kept Give Up close to my heart, revisiting it over and over again and always finding something new to love about it. It is simply one of my very favorite records to ever exist in any time and any place. 

Yet, there was always a great sense of loss that accompanied the record, as well. The Postal Service is the band that got away. After that one perfect record, Jimmy Tamborello and Ben Gibbard went on with their respective lives and continued making great music-- just not together. And for those of us who were so in love with the collaboration, the idea of a Postal Service reunion became one of those musical Moby Dicks that were long chased after and often rumored, but never materialized. 

Until this year, that is. 

When the Postal Service announced that they were reforming (along with Jenny freaking love of my life Lewis) for a tour to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Give Up, I felt like all of the Christmases for the next five years had come early. And I knew that there was no way that I was going to miss it. 

Ten years ago, if you had told me that I would be standing ten feet from the stage in an arena owned by Jay-Z, watching the Postal Service play their one album to a sold out crowd- I probably would have laughed at you. And yet, that is exactly what happened last night. Given my intense expectations, and the fact that I had waited so damn long to see these folks perform together, I was aware that there was a very good chance that I might wind up feeling slightly disappointed. 

Thankfully, that couldn't have been further from the truth. When Ben, Jimmy, and Jenny walked out on stage, that familiar droning synth from "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight" started playing and the entire arena lost their collective shit. What followed for the next two hours was nothing short of magical. It was the biggest, most fun, dance party/singalong that I have ever attended. There were several moments where I lifted my arms in the air and looked up at the teeming masses above me and felt such unbelievable amounts of love, there is no other way to describe the experience but "religious."

The audience weren't the only people who could feel the magic. Onstage, the band was energetic and smiling and playful. I've seen Jenny Lewis play a few different shows under different circumstances, but I have never seen her have as much fun as she was having last night. Ditto for Ben Gibbard, who danced and strutted around the stage like he was channeling Bono. Overall, it was abundantly clear that the members of the Postal Service understand why we love the band so much- because they love it just as much. 

The show ended with the joyful, deafening, crowd-led repetition of that final line from "Brand New Colony." Everything will change. Everything will change. Everything will change. 

As I walked outside into the steamy New York air and watched the hipsters dispersing, an overwhelming gratitude settled over me. I felt so thankful for Give Up; for the fact that it came into my life when it did and opened my eyes to a completely different musical landscape. But mostly, I was thankful to the Postal Service for giving us the gift of these reunion shows, for recognizing and rewarding our devotion, and for making a decade-old dream come true.  

Jenny channeling her spirit animal, Dave Mustaine. 

Why I Swooned Over Chris Carraba

My favorite thing about experiencing live music is the nature of unpredictability. Anything can happen at a show, for both spectators and participators. Mistakes are made, toes are stepped on, the setlist is revised. You can discover something totally new about a song or about yourself. Your favorite band might ruin themselves in front of you. Everything is within the realm of possibility. 

Quite often, you get surprised. Which is exactly what happened to me last night at Johnny Brenda's. 

I went into this show for the Lone Bellow. Because their self-titled debut has been on constant loop in my life for the past few months and is already a serious contender for album of the year for me. Because I know that this band is going to be enormous and I'll never have another chance to see them play such an intimate venue. And because I have a very serious toner for hipster alt-country acts with really tight harmonies. 

The Lone Bellow @ JB's.

 The Lone Bellow did not disappoint me. They were every bit as magnificent as I knew they would be. Every single song was a show stopper. As I stood at the foot of the stage and sang my heart out to "You Never Need Nobody" the girls next to me were doing the same. We threw our arms around one another, strangers no more, and shared the joyful experience of loving music together. 

So, the Lone Bellow is going to be in my life for a long time. That was not a surprise. 

Also not surprising, Ivan & Alyosha were thoroughly enjoyable. They've been a mix tape staple of mine for a while and the song "Glorify" gets me going every single time. I'm not sure that they had the right set up for the venue (two electric guitars and the electric bass kind of drowned out the vocals in that small room) but no matter. It was still a solid set. That wasn't surprising either. 

Ivan & Alyosha @ JB's.

What I wasn't prepared for was Twin Forks. In fact, I had no idea who they were or that they were playing until five minutes before I left for the show. My brother barged into my room and said, "Did you know there is another opener tonight?" 

This is how the conversation went- 

S: They're called Twin Forks. 

LB: That sounds like the setting for a high school TV melodrama.

S: It's from the guy from Dashboard Confessional with people from Bad Books and the Narrative.

LB: Chris Carrabba? What is he, like, producing it?

S: I think he's the singer. 

LB: No way. 

S: I think so. 

LB: No way that the singer from Dashboard is opening at a bar for two unknown bands.

S: I really think he is, though. 

My disbelief changed into total shock when I checked the band's Twitter account and Soundcloud and they both confirmed what S had told me. Chris Carrabba is in a new folk group with members of Bad Books and the Narrative and they are called Twin Forks and we were about to see them play their  first show at Johnny Brenda's. 

Fucking surprise, dude!

Also, surprise! They are really, really good. 

I have to preface this by saying that I am by no means a die hard Dashboard or Further Seems Forever fan. Of course, those bands represent something quintessential about my coming of age experience that is rivaled only by the Garden State soundtrack and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. For the millennial generation, Dashboard is everything about high school. There is no better Song to Fall in Love To than "Hands Down" and no Balm for a Broken Heart quite like "Screaming Infidelities." Of course I listened to them back in the day and sometimes revisit them now. 

Twin Forks @ Johnny Brenda's.

But while I will always have a soft spot in my heart for all of these things, my 25 year old self wouldn't go out of the way to see a Dashboard show, as great as those old songs are. 

Then Chris Carrabba walked out onstage at Johnny Brenda's and he is still the same tiny, tattooed man that I remembered from MTV Unplugged with a voice big enough to express every emotion. 

And he was singing honest-to-god folk songs. Think the Lumineers with less Ho-ing and Hey-ing and more introspective lyrics. 

Surprise! It was everything I never knew that I wanted. I fell in love with this group about thirty seconds into their first song, which is when I started trying to sing along even though I'd never heard it before. Maybe because the band was clearly having a great time playing together, maybe because they were just some great tunes, maybe because Chris' voice took me right back to some safe, warm place that I didn't know I'd been missing- but I smiled through their entire set. 

Obviously, this is a project that these guys are really excited and passionate about. That translates very well onstage. I also really respect that Chris isn't letting his notoriety from Dashboard sell this new band. I think that, ultimately, the songs will speak for themselves and that is the most beautiful thing of all. 

Not surprisingly, I am now a fan. The next time they come around to Philly, I'll be there with the same huge smile on my face.

Twin Forks @ Johnny Brenda's, 4/16/13

Why Delta Rae is My Favorite New Band

I'll proudly admit that the first loves of my musical life were the Hanson brothers. In sixth grade, while the other girls in my class were learning the choreography from the Spice Girls videos, I was trying to figure out how to play the drum part for "Where's the Love?"  I loved Hanson then and I love them now and I will always love them (and I do mean that in the Whitney Houston sense of the words). And because of them, I will always have a soft spot in my heart for blonde siblings who harmonize perfectly and sing poppy variations of blue-eyed soul songs.

So, clearly, I was destined to fall head over heels for Delta Rae. 

A six piece folk-rock band featuring three very blonde, very talented siblings and their childhood friends who sing earnest songs with intricate four part harmonies? Yeah. I'm all about that.

Like a lot of people, I found out about Delta Rae when their video for "Bottom of the River" went viral and it seemed like everyone I knew was posting it on their Facebook pages. I immediately liked the song but I wasn't sold on the band until a few months later, when I sat down and spent some time with their debut record Carry the Fire. What I discovered was a fantastic mix of rock, blues, folk, country and elements of gospel. I found myself singing along to songs after only one or two listens. It's been on constant rotation in my car ever since.

When I heard that Delta Rae was playing the TLA (along with ZZ Ward, another name that's been registering a lot on my radar lately) I knew that I had to check them out.

The first thing we noticed about this show: it was probably the most diverse audience I've ever seen. There were lots of high schoolers, lots of hipsters, families, and an entire group of retirement-aged people. It seemed like quite a few people who were my age had brought their parents with them. Quite a few parents who were close to my age had brought their young children. I was kind of uneasy in the crowd for a while, not able to predict what kind of experience I was about to have. 

As soon as Martin Harley, the opener, started in with his sick nasty blues-style lap guitar, all of my anxiety went away. He was impressive. And I really enjoyed his cover of Tom Waits' "Chocolate Jesus" in particular.

ZZ Ward (short for Zsuszsanna- how freaking cool is that?) is a 24 year-old blues singer with a bit of a hip hop flair that sets her apart from the rest of the army of Adele clones. While I enjoy her voice and her songs, I haven't been liking her album as much as I want to because I think it's too overproduced. Seeing her perform the songs live, however, stripped away that studio vibe and made me enjoy them a lot more.

But the meat of the evening, far and away, was Delta Rae. The moment that their set started, with the a capella "ohs" of their song "Morning Comes," I felt like I was waking up and seeing the sun for the first time in a long time. Immediate chills. I firmly believe that there is just something different (something magic, really) that happens when people who are blood-related sing together. Perhaps its in the frequency of their voices or perhaps it's that they are able to anticipate each others motions and responses because they share the same DNA. I don't know what causes it. I just know that when the Avett Brothers sing together, it sounds better than people who are not Avett brothers. Delta Rae exemplifies this as well.

It's not often that you find a band with four lead vocalists who not only all pull their own weight but don't seem to get bogged down by the trappings of ego. Onstage, Delta Rae functions like a well-oiled machine. Each member performs his or her designated task and then steps aside to allow one of the other members their moment to shine. They perform like a band that has been doing this forever instead of one that is just getting started. 

If I had to describe them in one word, it would be "charming." 

Surprisingly, they played "Bottom of the River" (which is undeniably their best-known song) right in the middle of their set. That takes some balls. Another thing that takes some balls? Following that song with a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain." You must know how good you are if you're going to follow up your biggest hit with the biggest hit of a legendary rock band that everyone has been comparing you with.

 That knocked me flat on my ass, but Delta Rae wasn't done yet. They closed their set with a version of "Dancing in the Graveyards" that was positively life-affirming. And then, just in case there was anyone in the audience who wasn't convinced that Delta Rae was their new favorite band, they walked right out into the audience for their encore. They did an acoustic version in the round of their song "Hey, hey, hey," and gave high fives to everyone they could reach. 

The amount of love in that moment was overwhelming. That's what music is really about, folks. 

After the show, we stuck around and the band came out for a Meet and Greet. We got a picture with Brittany and Liz and had the opportunity to chat with the band for a bit. For the record, not only are they talented but they are just about the nicest people you will ever meet. 

I came home and read that Delta Rae received their first major break when they won a contest in 2010 and got to open up a show for Hanson on their "Shout it Out" tour. 

It all makes sense.