Sooooo.... I had the opportunity to see The Decemberists twice on the same tour. Why? WHY? WHY? WHY? do you go see the same band on the same tour? A couple of reasons:
1. Dooling had an extra ticket for Omaha and I needed a road trip; and
2. I am a fan
That is right. My bad old hating, cynical self is a fan of the Decemberists and their pretentious little prick and genius, Colin Meloy. What happened to being a fan? rarely do people gush any more and when they gush at my age it is more likely to be about a red wine or a great deal on a flat screen screen TV. It is a little sad and I am certainly part of the problem berating other peoples taste when they are so bold as to put forth an opinion.
But the Decemberists and Meloy are at the top of their game. Off of a string or pretentious concept albums telling stories through a song cycle that owes more to Shakespeare than to Lou Reed. He is an awful, horrible, dark, talented writer and he is absolutely at the height of his powers. We all know from our prior reading that this type of talent has a shelf life. There are some that are great enough that they have three or four creative high spots in a long career but for most...you burst on the seen for a few years, spill a lifetime (up to that point) of angst... and then either disappear and retire (smart and classy and no one ever does it) or thrash around in irrelevance and eventually end up playing the Ameristar Casino for a paycheck.
So when you get a chance to see someone who is doing it, right now, you go. The new CD will be one of the 10 best of the year. It is a totally accessible CD veering towards being as alt-country as possible, (without a steel guitar) and it is frankly just a fun album with great lyrics.
So raise a glass to turnings of the season
And watch it as it arcs towards the sun
And you must bear your neighbor's burden within reason
And your labors will be born when all is done
I saw the band in Omaha 10 days before at a sit down concert at the Holland Center. It was one of the first shows of the tour and he was a little tight but he also could not create the requisite energy in a sit down venue. He in retrospect was clearly sturggling and every song had to end with a big finish that would go on for ever and the crowd would clap thinking he was done and then...he would jump again, freewheel with the guitar again and then finally... end. he was trying to put on a show but the crown could not hop up.
And now I was going to see him again because I had ordered the tickets a couple of months ago. On a classic note, I had Jon order the tickets and when I got home from work to go to the show... he could not find them. I go crazy about this type of stuff but he had his receipt for the tickets and was able to (after I had a brain hemorrhage) get the nice Ticketmaster (TM) people to agree to print some more for us at the will call window. Win, win....WINNING!
Once again we had Steve Earle’s son Justin Townes (Van Zandt) Earle open the show and it immediately was a more connected show. The crowd was attentive if not respectful and interacted with him as he told a few stories and sang pretty much the same set. Once again a great opener, warming the crowd up but not raising expectations too much. He really can play guitar, he writes a good song and I will make an effort to buy his new album and see him when he comes around with a full band.He finished. I had another beer. We were able to stand on the floor about 20 feet from the stage. I was able to get a beer at the bar but could not take the beer on to the floor since it was an all ages show. This seemed a small price to pay and i was able to grab another beer between sets because I was dry as dirt. Once again the lights dimmed. I was once again treated to the alleged Mayor of Portland telling me to close my eyes...imagine myself in a Pacific rain forest (as he allegedly hovered in a large ship over the venue) as a group of strangers wandered through the forest towards us, and they are The Decemberists! Yay! The lights come up and they break into the set and start with “The Infanta” and then “Down By The Water” and I was worried he was going to replicate the Omaha show but then we got “Calamity Song” and I knew it would be a different show.
Meloy was working the crowd from the start and the band was even tighter having performed the show a few more times and they tore it up. I do not know whether the show was so much better because of the venue and being able to stand and stand close to the stage if you wanted, or whether it is because there was booze, or whether it was just better. But it was better. Much better. It was tight and it rocked and I liked the set selection more. He played “Don’t Carry It All” and as if just to piss my Omaha host off he played “The Sporting Life”. It was awesome. The whole set list is below:
The Infanta
Down By the Water
Calamity Song
Rox In The Box
The Engine Driver
The Bagman's Gambit
Won't Want For Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
The Crane Wife 3
The Sporting Life
January Hymn
The Rake's Song
Don't Carry It All
16 Military Wives
This Is Why We Fight
The Chimbley Sweep
Hr did a three song encore and that was that but it was great night at the Pageant and while I questioned seeing them twice on the same tour within ten days.... definitely not a mistake. The new album is powerful. Go buy “The King Is Dead”. Even this early it will be on a lot of ten best lists.
THE OMAHA POSTER!
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