Before Friday night, I had never seen The Decemberists live and yes, I’m retro-actively kicking my own ass. In 2003, a friend introduced me to the Portland indie rock/baroque pop five piece, bestowing upon me Castaways and Cutouts and the then newly-released Her Majesty The Decemberists, though it wasn’t until 2005’s Picaresque that I really fell in love with The Decemberists (“The Mariner’s Revenge Song” is still my favorite Decemberists song, and the bridge of “The Sporting Life” is my ringtone).
I rolled into the Electric Factory Friday night — thanks to the staff there for making my entrance to the sold out show possible! — expecting nothing short of amazing, and Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen certainly delivered that, though front man Meloy does get most of the credit for his hilarious stage antics, which only added to the astounding performance.
As I write this, I’m listening to the concert again thanks for WXPN for broadcasting it live and NPR for hosting the archived stream of the show. I’m still amazed at just how tight the band was live; if not for the roar of the crowd and the stage banter, almost every song on the set list could have been mistaking for a recording. Vocally, Meloy was spot on and Chris Funk is just an amazing guitarist, not to mention his talents on the slew of other instruments he played throughout the night. Conlee’s intensity at both the accordion and keyboard provided beautifully rich melodies that carried many of the night’s selections.
Eager to get the same high on life as Colin Meloy, whatever he asked of the crowd, they followed through with more than willingly: Meloy urged the crowed to put their arms around the person next to them and sway to, to run in place and even lay down on the floor of the Electric Factory (um, gross). The energetic Meloy was running all around the stage himself, had the audience in the palm of his hand; they even loved when he bent down to tie his shoe and later cracked a joke about losing your cred when playing a shoe tying samba.
Meloy is one hell of a showman and didn’t lack for energy for one second throughout the entire two hour set, though I now that the rest of those in attendance would agree that two hours never went by so quickly. If the Electric Factory would have allowed it and the Decemberists had been up for it, I have no doubt that we the crowd would have been more than happy to stay well into the night, even the next day, to revel in the fantastic music and even better musicianship displayed that evening.
Do yourself a favor and get yourself to a Decemberists’ show, just make sure to buy tickets in advance or you’ll be sorely disappointed when the box office tells you the show is sold out. And while I generally discourage scalping tickets (on both sides of the sale), a Decemberists ticket is certainly more than worth the inflated price.
Setlist:
Shanty For The Arethusa
July, July
Valerie Plame
New England
Engine Driver
On The Bus Mall
The Island, Come and See, The Landlord’s Daughter
The Perfect Crime #2
Days of Elaine
The Record Year For Rainfall
Dracula’s Daughter (shortened)
O Valencia!
Culling of the Fold
The Chimbly Sweep
Sixteen Military Wives
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Raincoat
Sons & Daughters
The Decemberists: website | myspace | Always The Bridesmaid series review | stream the concert
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