-Kelly Freund

Ten years. That’s what it took to bring The Postal Service back together and inevitably to Brooklyn. Ten life-changing years. For most of The Postal Service’s fan base, everything has changed in those ten years. And yet after a decade, one thing has remained the same; that one album, Give Up, released in February of 2003 made an everlasting impact.

On Friday June 14th The Postal Service took their talents to The Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ben Gibbard, lead singer of The Postal Service and Death Cab for Cutie, knew just how special the night was for everyone, and embraced the crowd from beginning to end.

Special is a word that The Postal Service is no stranger to. Millions of albums have been made in the last ten years and Give Up had a strong enough fan base to sell out the Barclays Center a decade after its release. Gibbard said it best after they opened the show with “The District Sleeps Alone Tonight.” He said, “All you need to do is make a record, then do nothing for ten years and you’ll end up playing at the Barclays Center.” Special? You bet your ass the night would be nothing short of it.

As the first song started, the room came alive. 18,0000 people became one with the music they’ve waited so long to hear. The video game-like beat filled the room as shoulders touched and the crowd swayed with the music. Beers became microphones and random strangers became dancing partners. A usually calm Gibbard was letting loose on stage; bouncing around, smiling and even conjuring up some quirky dance moves (those only fitting for a crowd in Brooklyn). Although the songs may be “old”, Gibbard’s vocals haven’t aged at all. His voice was smooth, strong and comforting. With only four people on stage and a setup including a guitar, bass, keyboard, drums,  a simple yet exciting light show and a microphone. it became more like a party and less like a sold-out concert.

The songs flowed one into another. The crowd went from bopping up and down to “We Will Become Silhouettes” to belting out the words to “Be Still My Heart.” The night that everyone wished would last longer was impossible to slow down. Unlike many other concerts there were minimal pauses and minimal interaction with the crowd. Nor did there need to be, Gibbard let the music evoke the emotions and memories. With every song came a screech, a sigh, a scream and a few ‘oh my God’s’ from the crowd. For some, if not most, this would be the first and only time they would ever experience these songs live. It was a moment not to be wasted with words.

An hour into the show anticipation rose as ten songs had come and gone in the blink of an eye. There were only a handful of songs that still hadn’t been played, “Such Great Heights” being one of them. “Heights” has become an anthem of sorts for The Postal Service. It’s first few beats spark chills and, like a wave, the feelings come rolling in; and many of us were anticipating that moment.

As one of the bands only new but catchy songs, “A Tattered Line of String,” came to a close, the beat carried on; when suddenly it changed. As soon as the next song started the room shook, the tears began to flow and the screaming was almost as loud as the beat; “Such Great Heights” had begun. Before getting into the song that had connected and captured millions of people, Gibbard took this time to thank the devoted fans for waiting ten years for this moment; “The real reason we are here ten years later is because this record still means something to you and that is so amazingly humbling, and you can’t even begin to understand how much it means to us, this is our big love song and it goes out to you.”

Love is exactly what was happening in The Barclays Center on Friday night. Love for music, Love for originality, Love for opportunity, Love for a band, a sound, and the lyrics that withstood the test of time.

After a much deserved encore The Postal Service ran back on stage to close the show with “Brand New Colony”, which made perfect sense. The last few lines repeat; everything will change, everything will change. And in the last ten years since Give Up debuted in 2003, everything has changed. In the next ten years everything will change. But one thing will remain the same. One album, one band, one sound, and one night that brought it all together for maybe one last time. With one simple bow the band left the stage, and the crowd woke up from the dream they wished would never end. The last ten years of devotion is a love song to The Postal Service.

[cover photo by Robert Altman of SPIN]

“Such Great Heights” from Barclays Center: