Melodies Rhapsodical and Fair!

April 10, 2005

Somewhere down the line, I narrowed my focus to three or four bands, and really didn’t care much more about anyone else. One of these bands is a Donewaiting Favorite, the mighty Decemberists of Portland, Oregon. After their last trip, I’ve now seen the Colin Meloy play seven times since January 2004. That’s a LOT. Each time the Decemberists have returned to Los Angeles, the venue size has virtually doubled. This time, they were booked in the cavernous Henry Fonda Theater that holds about 1500 picaroons, and they sold the place out.

The band stepped on stage and there were a few immediate differences. Instead of the Russian National Anthem, they entered to the whale calls that open up Picaresque. Gone is drummer Rachel Blumberg and added are the Jicks’ John Moen on drums and L.A. resident Petra Haden on violin and vocals. In an added bit of theatricality, the group no longer shows up in jeans and t’s, but the custom-made matching outfits you see in their press photos.

John Moen was onstage before anyone else, knocking out the galloping drumbeat of “The Infanta” as everyone slowly meandered on. All at once, the group entered the fray and then followed directly into a jubilant “July, July.” The focus was mainly on new “We Both Go Down Together” felt like “Losing My Religion” in a good way and “The Sporting Life” was a crowd favorite, the song busting into a tambourine extravaganza during the break. If you’re in the middle of the crowd and towards the right, Meloy will be tossing a tambourine your way, so watch out. “Engine Driver” and “On the Bus Mall” were played as a pair, and both were transcendent. The only new songs that didn’t really appeal to me were “From My Own True Love” and “Bagman’s Gambit,” two numbers that are just a bit slow and repetitive in the live setting. The Decemberists also tossed in a cover of Kate Bush’s “Wuthering Heights,” which newcomer Petra Haden takes lead vocal on. The song lives at the top end of Haden’s range, but she tackled it with abandon and you could see the joy on her face as she knocked each progressively more difficult part.

The live show has become progressively more interactive each time I’ve seen the band. This night, it was reaching all new levels. During the climax of “16 Military Wives,” the crowd threw crumpled up pieces of paper at Meloy, renacting the bombardment of Henry Stowecraft at the end of the video. With the now customary “Los Angeles, I’m Yours,” Meloy led the audience in a rhythmic footstomping as well as letting the masses sing lines of the song without him. When he sang “I can see your undies,” a dozen pair of panties flew on stage. It’s bordering on Rocky Horror, and I’d recommend to Meloy not to write any songs about rotten food or heavy projectiles. The new joint activity came with the main set finale of “Mariner’s Revenge Song,” where the band asked the audience to groan and scream “as if swallowed by a whale” when that part of the song was reached. The kitschy community theater aspect of the show continues to grow, but right now the audiences are still lapping it up.

The encore started with a solo “Red Right Ankle,” with Meloy prompting the audience to sing the melodica solo in Rachel Blumberg’s stead. The show was already over the hour mark, but the band and crowd were hot and Meloy picked up the electric and blasted into the 20 minute epic of “The Tain.” I’d assumed that the song cycle was retired, too indulgent and exhausting to integrate into the regular rotation, but there it was, grandiose and magnificent as ever. It was the glorious capper to an amazing evening.

Without a doubt, this was best show of the year (so far). Since Donewaiting is once again booking the Decemberists in Columbus, I have no doubts everyone reading already has their tickets. Right?

Posted in From Blown Speakers