Opening for Athlete, The Postelles played a flawless run through of old material and some tasters for the new album – due for release sometime early next year. The crowd were with them for every song. In fact, a sizable portion seemed to be avid fans (groupies dare I say), who were singing along and shouting up at the band during interludes.
The Postelles songs are all extremely catchy with a raw charm that makes them sound not over-produced (a rare treat at this level, having been signed by EMI). This feeling is matched by the bands relaxed indie pop image and toungue-in-cheek lyrics – reminding me of many UK acts. I sometimes wonder how they have come out of New York, but then considering all the music crossing the Atlantic, I am not surprised. My favourite tune is definitely still ‘1,2,3 Stop’ but after their show at the Bowery Ballroom, I am seriously anticipating the new album. Check out them playing an acoustic version of ‘1,2,3 Stop’ below (from 2008!)
Next up was the headliners Athlete. After five minutes of playing, the venue was packed with adoring fans. The set was a mix of some old classics and then many new ones from their 4th studio album, Black Swan. Their extremely polished performance was testament to their high level of success (their second album, Tourist, reached Number One in the UK Album Charts in its first week), and the long time Athlete have been together (now ten years).
The only detraction for me was Joel Pott displaying some stereotypical British rock arrogance and that at times it seemed like the band was working around him – leaving the stage at one point for him to play solo. However, considering the audience were predominantly American, they probably found his British quips to be entertaining and by the time the planned encore came, they were still chanting the hook from the previous song “The Getaway” throughout the gap “ohh ohhh ohhh” (or something like that).
The high point for the lively crowd came with the performance of “Wires” – the hit single from Tourist. Having had this song requested throughout their set, Athlete were wise to save the best for last. All in all a great evening, and Athlete were lucky to arrive to such a well-prepped audience at the hands of The Postelles.
See below for some pics of the night , including Athlete’s Setlist:
