so i am gonna be quite blunt about this, not gonna be pompous and say i have been a decemberists fan forever, just gonna admit the first time i heard them i hated them. thought they were quite pretentious, but the fact is when i actually started listening to them on my own, not when tim constantly played engine driver, it eventually warmed up to me. so ive been listening to them for near on a year now and they have quickly become one of my favorite bands. ah the sound of his voice is so unique. so call it a special circumstance that i would go back to my place of employment (not working this summer) to buy my tickets from one of my bosses who had two extra, awesome though.
once we got there, me and mr. palamara we had some time to kill so we killed it, the venue was nice, small and personal. it felt more like an actual theater for plays and shit transformed into a music venue. it felt quaint and somewhere the decemberists would probably rather play than say the electric factory which just feels so manufactured. so we picked up our merch which the selection felt rather small than other bands but hey what do you expect when you are seeing a band that honestly isn't quite mainstream.
the audience was so varied, it isn't like it was all one age group or one demographic. there were few young people (below 18, those that were were with their parental units) there was quite a large variety of twenty somethings to fifty somethings, i tell you the people next to us had to be mid forties to early fifties! it was as if this one band united the generations since well they had such a unique sound.
the first band, robyn hitchcock, was actually good. they did what an opening band should do, entertain and keep you in line till the main band comes out. they were actually really good and you know what, they were in their fifties which was impressive on there own. the singer had his own unique sense of humor when he was up there talking about how small buzz aldrin was (1 inch i believe). when they got off i was left with a feeling like man i should listen to these guys.
the decemberists took a short period of time to show up and they started with a bang. we both went in knowing they were doing the entire new album, the hazards of love from start to finish. they came out and started, the lighting was amazing (they kept changing the colors and how bright, if you need proof check out my pics on facebook). the one girl, the one from Lavander Diamond, was wearing a hippie dress (i kid you not) but when she sang it was a bit hard to hear her since her mic was low. now you could hear everyone else perfectly well when they sang. now the other girl, the one from My Brightest Diamond, was the better of the two. she came up when it was her turn to be the focus and did these almost ballerina esque movements along with her impressive vocals, i think she had add. overall they were impressive and honestly gave me a more positive view on the album, but even still the story confused me, mainly bc i think the order of the songs in which they put them in made it that way. but hazards of love is an album you need to see performed live to fully gain the experience. at the end of the final song colin meloy said, "we'll be right back, need a break." i thought they were just gonna play the album but a second set??!!
their next set was impressive to say the least, i am not gonna name every song bc to be honest i don't remember it all. but they started with the crane wife, you know the one where the chorus goes "and i will hang me head, hang my head low" they continued to follow it through with more tracks from several of their albums, july july was another track and chimbley sweep. the rants between the songs were priceless, he mentioned how this one song he wrote [started to play it too] was nothing but "douchey" chords and all around douchey and it is pretty much a song you can douche to. towards the middle or end of the song he said he was knocked out by a monkey who took that song to LA and it ended up being Gnarles Barkley's Crazy or whatever that song is called. i couldnt believe he called that man a monkey....during chimbley sweep they added an insane instrumental in which both guitarists went into the audience and handed off their guitars to random members, two girls started playing insanely well and it continued for almost five plus minutes, i was blown as was mr. palamara.
they closed out and everyone was screaming encore. now i was skeptical since they did play two sets and the like but they came out and played 3 more songs and none of them were Mariner's Revenge Song. that is the song you should end a concert on, Mariner's Revenge Song instead they ended with Sons and Daughters which wasn't a bad song but still...overall the concert was amazing and well jizz in your pants worthy....and now a bonus!
DECEMBERISTS ALBUM REVIEWS [VERY LITE]
Castaways and Cut-Outs First Thought: C
not gonna lie, it took me a few listens to warm up to this band and this album, i was skeptical and didn't know how i felt about the several changes in the sound throughout the album
New Thought: A
this album is now one of my faves from these guys, i love so many of the tracks and the variety, it's not a concept album in the least and yet it feels so elequant. did i spell that right? i hope, its got lots of great songs, one thing i love is how their upbeat songs are so depressing
The Crane Wife First Thought: D
i never really enjoyed concept albums, this one was real hard for me to get into since at the time i wasn't as much of a fan. after several listens i came to love this album and have to say it is one of their best, not my all time favorite but i totally slowly eased into the slow changes and the lengths of the songs
New Thought: A-
the songs have a wide variety of length so it makes it hard for the ADD minded to sit for the entire album but most of these songs are exceedingly well constructed and well written. the story is a bit hard to follow but once you get it, you get it
The Hazards of Love First Thought: C
WTF? this album made no sense story wise. and you know what it felt too different
New Thought: B+
solid well put together songs, fluid flow between them, too fluid, and very beautiful vocals from the fairer sex. good lyrics too. still dont get the story...
Her Majesty First Thought: D-
i didn't like this album flat out straight up honesty right there
New Thought: C
still not a huge fan of this album, i like a few of the tracks. that's why i rarely listen to it, on the bright side it has the chimbley sweep
Picaresque First Thought: C
i think this album was the easiest for me to get into mainly i had listened to the others and i liked the themes more on this album than on the other, i'm not quite sure what i really thought at the time about this one since i brainwashed myself when i fell in love with it
New Thought: A freaking plus
this is my favorite of their albums now, my most listened to one too! i love all the tracks on it except the last one....but they are all so well done, not much of a concept album but more or less a series of stories that each song represent instead of creating a whole, its a fun listen especially mariner's revenge song
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