The Postelles Dominate a Free Gig at the Standard Hotel

The Postelles played a free gig at the Standard Hotel's Chez André tonight to warm up for their ...And It Shook Me tour.  But you can hardly call it warming up when you're on fire.  The last time I saw the Manhattan group was in early March at Santos Party House.  The sound mix was unflattering and the band seemed tired until the encore.  Not the case tonight.  Daniel Balk coaxed the crowd forward with a "We don't bite," (Sure, but maybe that cavernous mouth behind you does.) and kicked off the set with an energized "Running Red Lights."  His soulfully shouted vocals toward the song's end were the best I've ever heard from him; not to mention some of the best I've heard this year.  They followed with two crowd faves, "123 Stop" and "Hey Little Sister."  "This song is called..." Balk said as he looked down at the setlist, scrawled on the back of a McSorely's postcard.  "It's called 'Sweet Water.'"  They played the delectable summer pop nugget, making a spur-of-the-moment decision to follow it with live debut of "Heavy Eyes," featuring some winsome harmonies from David Dargahi.  A small amount of crowd chatter rebounded off the muraled walls, but it was no match for John's punchy Rickenbacker and Billy's thumping drums.  The Postelles returned to the program for the rest of the set; not that there was any filler.  In fact, "Caught by Surprise" has been stuck in my head since the show, cemented there by one perfect "Your eyes!" that Daniel hit with an almost reggae lilt.  They wrapped up the short set with their frequent closer, "White Night," leaving everyone wanting more.  The tour begins next week in Santa Barbara and finishes in New York on June 11th at Webster Hall, so I guess we'll have to wait until then.  In the meantime, my fingers remain optimistically crossed for a vinyl release.

THE POSTELLES - 05.14.13 - STANDARD HOTEL (33 minutes, 25 seconds)

SET -

Running Red Lights / 123 Stop / Hey Little Sister / Sweet Water / Heavy Eyes / Can't Stand Still / Whole Wide World / Caught by Surprise / Tidal Wave / White Night