By Tyler Fassnacht
I almost didn’t go to last nights Decemberists show. I had seen them twice before and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cough up the cash, especially because I wasn’t overwhelmed by their latest album, The Hazards of Love. Well I sucked it up and went, and boy am I glad.
The show was originally located at the Orpheum, but was moved to the Overture Center, which is both a curse and a blessing in my opinion. The Overture Center has very strict ushers and is a little too proper for a rock show (it is always a little awkward standing up there). However, it does have beautiful acoustics and all around good sound, which really benefited a lot of the Decemberists’ material.
I got there early for a good seat (it was general admission) and I was still a little skeptical of the show before it started. It started very promptly with the openers, Heartless Bastards (the only time I’ve ever seen a band come on EARLY, five minutes to be exact) and they blew me away. The first thing that jumps out about this alt-country/rock band are the vocals by front woman Erika Wennerstrom. She has one of the most unique voices in rock right now and she uses the hell out of it, yelping and bellowing her way through the HB catalog. I was a casual listener before hand, but now I am a full fledged fan. They were incredibly deserving of the standing ovation they received and I am definitely excited to catch their set at Lollapalooza.
This show was also the most punctual rock show I have ever been to. I read on some television screen near the bathrooms that there was a thirty minute break in between bands, and come thirty minutes the Decemberists walked on stage.
The band came on and as promised they played the Hazards of Love in its entirety, without a single pause. It was really more of a musical theatre performance than a rock show, with approximately an hour straight of music and no recognition of the audience. The band played as they were actors, staying in character throughout each song, pretending as though they were in some far off land, with no breaks to even say hello to attendees. Now as I mentioned I wasn’t a huge fan of the new album, it just didn’t seem very Decemberists-y to me, but when performed live it was much more engaging. However I would be lying if I said I wasn’t even more excited for their second set of old Decemberists goodies.
During their second set they were a completely different band, with witty banter between every song (including reminiscing of past shows in Madison and stories of awful songs Colin Meloy wrote, Dracula’s Daughter anyone?). For their second set they mostly took from the Crane Wife, with one from Picaresque, “We Both Go Down Together”, and one from Castaways and Cutouts, “July, July”. The encore ended with an audience sing a long to “Sons and Daughters”, which was a nice, warm way to end a surprisingly fun and entertaining night.
Great review. I saw them outside in Portland and had a similar experience – coming in I was a little skeptical of the Decemberists, and much more excited to see Andrew Bird open for them. But they put on a great show, both the Hazards of Love set and the second set of older stuff. Wish they would have played Sons and Daughters for us, though…
Great show. I thoroughly enjoy Hazards of Love, so hearing it live, from start to finish was a treat.
I would have to say the highlight of the night was the cover of Heart’s “Crazy on You”, with Becky Stark and Shara Worden splitting vocals. It more or less set my pants ablaze.
I thought it was a great show, including HB. I was afraid that the crowd would be rude and not even accept them…what a voice she has! A fantastic start to the show….I was blown away with the entire performance. So much better live and quite a spectacle. The madison.com review was way off….she said that the two females stole the show from Colin and he was “flat”. BS…he was performing in his usual demeanor. Also, Jenny, the keyboardist, et al needs to be recognized! What would they be without that B3 or whatever it is? Also, where in the heck can you go and hear a hurdy gurdy? A young guy next to me asked if it was an old vacuum cleaner! Chris Funk is an amazing multi-instrument performer. What? A 12 string electric mandolin? I could go on and on…..I loved the show!
Really wish I couldv’e gone. I’m a long-time Decemberists fan and thought that Heartless Bastards put out one of the best recods (and songs – “The Mountain”) of 2009. I remember the High Noon spinning it before The Thermals show and was happy to hear it. Glad to hear they’re great live. I’ll probably check them out next time they pass through.
I LOVE the Decemberists. Full out passionate love. I caught the show in Milwaukee and have been lavishing in their sounds ever since. I have a documentary about them posted in my blog archive.
Tyler, This is a great condensed little review. Much better than the one in the Madison newspaper. I pretty much agree with every word here. I loved the whole night. [I agree RE: Heartless Bastards.] The Decemberists were so good, so polished. Everyone on the ground floor stood, every second, from beginning to end, which helped counter the potential stuffiness of The Overture. The power of the big parts of The Hazards Of Love tore into the chests of everyone standing, dancing in place on the ground floor, blew us off our feet. If you looked around at the first 15 rows or so, you could see some of the best, most joyful, most abandoned dancing in place I’ve ever seen in a theater with rows of seats.(Seriously).
HEY TYLER ITS ME GUS I THINK YOU WROTE A GOOD REVIEW