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The Decemberists live
Tuesday, 9 June 2009 16:10The triple bill at Merriwether Post Pavillion last night was just incredible.
We arrived very early and got to kind of overhear the soundchecks. Man, it must be nice to have that kind of time before a show starts to get everything right.
They let us in to some incredible folk music being piped out over the house system. I believe that this was deliberate on the part of Colin Melloy of the Decemberists as there were a whole lot of excellent old ballads that he unashamedly will admit inspired him in the writing of their latest album. I was tickled pink to hear The Strawbs, Sandy Denny, The Incredible String Band, (I think) Jean Redpath, and even Kate Bush in the mix. I sure would love to see *that* list so that I could learn some of these songs.
But then the real show started:
1st was a short set from Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three.
I'd never seen RH live, and have heard far too little of his music. And that's my misfortune. He's a terriffic writer, and a fine performer who fills any venue with his fun and whimsy.
2nd was Andrew Bird, or as I call him, The Andrew Bird. He's a really quirky performer and a very idiosyncratic writer. He has two specialties: 1) Whistling (REALLY well), and 2) Playing his violin, xylophone, guitar, and other instruments into sampling boxes and then layering these samples as accompaniment. He and his band handled this flawlessly, which speaks alot to their polish and collective sense of timing. It was impressive, and pretty.
3rd: The Decemberists.
I've raved about these guys before, and I hadn't ever seen them perform live. Colour me amazed at that.
First of all, was their sound. I have NEVER, I mean NEVER EVER heard a band sound that crisp and that clear at that volume at Merriwether. I grew up on seeing progressive bands in live venues, and learning to live with and forgive the muddiness and wonkiness of live sound at concert volumes in what are essentially big barns. But whomever they had working the boards last night deserves a private island. It was THAT good.
Also, as much as I love the Decemberists music and writing, I've found that sometimes Colin Melloy seemed to have issues staying on his pitches when he sang. Not last night. He was spot on for every note out of his mouth. More Kudos to the sound crew for that.
The first part of their show was to perform their new album _The Hazards Of Love_ in it's entirety. And that was WOW, just WOW.
Again, I grew up seeing arty bands struggling to bring their studio visions to life, and I have NEVER EVER heard an album so successfully and so brilliantly brought to this much life in a concert venue, and that includes the best musicals I've seen.
It was soo sooo good.
Get out and get this album folks.
For the second part of their show, they drew from the rest of their catalog with both reverence and fun.
Notable was their silly improv in the middle of the song "Cautionary Tale" and their use of Melloy's self-admitted "Worst song I EVER WROTE" as an intro to "O Valencia"
I spent many years lamenting how few people were left making the kind of music that inspired me to be a musician and further inspired me to play out of the usual boxes. The Decemberists are answering my prayers on that count with everything they do.
We arrived very early and got to kind of overhear the soundchecks. Man, it must be nice to have that kind of time before a show starts to get everything right.
They let us in to some incredible folk music being piped out over the house system. I believe that this was deliberate on the part of Colin Melloy of the Decemberists as there were a whole lot of excellent old ballads that he unashamedly will admit inspired him in the writing of their latest album. I was tickled pink to hear The Strawbs, Sandy Denny, The Incredible String Band, (I think) Jean Redpath, and even Kate Bush in the mix. I sure would love to see *that* list so that I could learn some of these songs.
But then the real show started:
1st was a short set from Robyn Hitchcock and the Venus Three.
I'd never seen RH live, and have heard far too little of his music. And that's my misfortune. He's a terriffic writer, and a fine performer who fills any venue with his fun and whimsy.
2nd was Andrew Bird, or as I call him, The Andrew Bird. He's a really quirky performer and a very idiosyncratic writer. He has two specialties: 1) Whistling (REALLY well), and 2) Playing his violin, xylophone, guitar, and other instruments into sampling boxes and then layering these samples as accompaniment. He and his band handled this flawlessly, which speaks alot to their polish and collective sense of timing. It was impressive, and pretty.
3rd: The Decemberists.
I've raved about these guys before, and I hadn't ever seen them perform live. Colour me amazed at that.
First of all, was their sound. I have NEVER, I mean NEVER EVER heard a band sound that crisp and that clear at that volume at Merriwether. I grew up on seeing progressive bands in live venues, and learning to live with and forgive the muddiness and wonkiness of live sound at concert volumes in what are essentially big barns. But whomever they had working the boards last night deserves a private island. It was THAT good.
Also, as much as I love the Decemberists music and writing, I've found that sometimes Colin Melloy seemed to have issues staying on his pitches when he sang. Not last night. He was spot on for every note out of his mouth. More Kudos to the sound crew for that.
The first part of their show was to perform their new album _The Hazards Of Love_ in it's entirety. And that was WOW, just WOW.
Again, I grew up seeing arty bands struggling to bring their studio visions to life, and I have NEVER EVER heard an album so successfully and so brilliantly brought to this much life in a concert venue, and that includes the best musicals I've seen.
It was soo sooo good.
Get out and get this album folks.
For the second part of their show, they drew from the rest of their catalog with both reverence and fun.
Notable was their silly improv in the middle of the song "Cautionary Tale" and their use of Melloy's self-admitted "Worst song I EVER WROTE" as an intro to "O Valencia"
I spent many years lamenting how few people were left making the kind of music that inspired me to be a musician and further inspired me to play out of the usual boxes. The Decemberists are answering my prayers on that count with everything they do.
