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Cex being annoying (photo: Cex's web site)
The Postal Service (photo: Brian Tamborello)
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One of the surprise hits of early 2003 has been The Postal Service, the '80s electropop duo consisting of Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello and Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard. Three months ago, nobody could have guessed that their debut album Give Up would garner such mass critical/commercial acclaim, or that their month-long jaunt across the US would be sold out in advance, prompting the announcement of extra shows in major markets and sending legions of kids scrambling for tickets. The tour's stop in the Windy City was anticipated with even more fervor than DCFC could generally muster, and left no small number of punters out in the unseasonably cold April night.
We made it inside just in time to see Baltimore madman Cex take, and then subsequently jump off of, the stage. Those of you unfamiliar with the Cex-man are really missing out on one of the best aspects of underground hip-hop today -- he's a lanky, skunk-haired white boy with a penchant for gothic b-boy tom-thuggery, gabber techno beats and shedding more and more clothing as his set progresses. Oh, and he does his entire set from the main floor. It seems no stage is big enough to hold Cex, and it was amazing to watch scores of timid Postal Service fans gawk in mock-horror as he stalked and mocked the crowd like a modern-day Flavor Flav. His set was tightly wound and sweaty as a moose playing beach volleyball, hauling out his big "hits" -- "Ghost Rider" and "Kill Me" -- and showcasing material from his soon-to-be-released Being Ridden, but the fact that two-thirds of the crowd absolutely hated him is what made his place on this bill truly fantastic.
After allowing the crowd a few moments to decompress after their volatile Cex experience, the live incarnation of the Postal Service (Gibbard, Tamborello and guitarist/keyboardist/vocalist Jen Wood) took the stage, spiriting up the glitchy opening of "The District Sleeps Tonight". A slow, gradual build was TPS's weapon of choice this evening, and soon the gentle blips and Gibbard's sonorous croon gave way to pulsating breaks, optigan noodling and heaps of textured guitar squalls. In fact, for a great majority of the show, they sounded like nothing so much as New Order's Bernard Sumner fronting My Bloody Valentine. Tamborello remained entrenched in his playpen of PowerBook, sampler, keyboard and optigan, while Gibbard and Wood filled in the gaps with guitar, voice, keyboard and live drums, oscillating between dreamy lovescapes ("Nothing Better"), pogo-happy joystick jack-ups ("Such Great Heights") and full-on ear-damaging noise maelstroms ("Natural Anthem"). The group's giddy joy was evident as they bounded about the stage, their contagious energy reaching its apex as they exited stage right, leaving "Natural Anthem" to fizzle out in a haze of feedback and shattered electronics. The crowd lapped up every broken shard that was tossed their way.
Tonight was the true culmination of the group's efforts; in the past three months they've created a delectable slice of lovelorn '80s retro chic, single-handedly ushered in an Ultravox/A-ha revival, and smashed the paradigm for live electro-pop performance to bits. So where do The Postal Service go from here? Not even Gibbard and Tamborello know for sure.
-- Jason Jackowiak
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