The show opened with a single light, a microphone, a guitar and one of the most distinguishable voices of this generation in music, that of Colin Meloy. Bassist Nate Query slunk on stage crooning on a cello, an instrument to which I cannot help but swoon. In fact I hardly remember applauding between the first and second “Crane Wife” pieces as I was sucked into the vacuum of cello hypnosis. But soon faded. One of the things I love most about The Decemberists is that while Meloy is clearly the front man -- he stands front and center, is the primary voice and is definitely the hipster heartthrob of the Northwest-- there is a family-like cohesiveness to the rest of the group. They have a kind of rhythm that exceeds mere music and beats which to me creates a tangible experience of rocking out.
There is little more enjoyable than witnessing members of the group to which I’m grooving have the same reaction as I would at the end of their songs. As they finished up “Billy Liar” I prepared for my go-to fist in the air scream with delight and at the same moment, BA keyboardist Jenny Conlee completed the same link of behaviors. So it’s official, I can rock out like a rock star. Okay, okay, everyone does that at the end of most songs, I know. But my point is The Decemberists create an atmosphere that does not separate performer from fan, and it slowly became clear to me that they are just a bunch of grown up ADD band geeks with immense talent.
Not to mention, they’re hilarious. The Moore Theatre in Seattle is sort of a cross between The Orpheum in Boston and The Filmore West in San Francisco. Sort of. In between the ground level of standing (read: jumping) fans and the first balcony there is a small windowed section that is either an extension of a hallway, or a photographers’ section, I’m not entirely sure. At any rate there was about a five-minute debate between Meloy and drummer John Moen on whether it was a vestibule or a grotto. They settled on “vestibular grotto.”
Following their little stint on architecture, their line up of pieces from their album Picaresque ensued. On the drive up to the show, my friends and I admittedly hoped that they would play “Eli the Barrow Boy,” but were honestly not expecting them to play it. So when Meloy introduced the ghost tale, we wiggled in glee and they performed it so perfectly my eyes glazed over. And yet, moments later they turned on the juice and jammed out to the old Romeo and Juliet with the West Side Story twist “O Valencia.”
Now, remember what I said about the ADD band geeks? The note I wrote down in the middle of “The Chimbley Sweep” was “slowly turning into Hunter S. Thompson-esque three year old play group.” While everyone jumped around playing each other’s instruments, multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk just stood on stage right shaking his head and jamming along. Then there was group calisthenics. Then we all pogoed. Enough said about that.
The winning ticket for me was the opening song of the encore. Meloy walked on stage and asked if it was all right if he did a cover. Some people sounded disappointed. But then he started playing Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” and we all remembered Colin Meloy can do whatever he wants. Especially when it’s play my favorite Joni song in all the world. I’m not usually a fan of covers that are so far away from the original that kids in a younger generation do not realize the cover isn’t the original. And I’m not a fan of covers that are exactly the same as the original, for obvious reasons, and I know I’m not alone on that. But this cover was seductively different-enough that the entire theatre was holding its breath. You know how everything goes fuzzy in the background the first time Wayne sees Cassandra in the first Wayne’s World movie and “Dreamweaver” comes on in the background? That’s what the experience for me was like during this piece, only I just kept hearing “A Case of You.” And I don’t have a mullet.
SET LIST
1. “Crane Wife 1 & 2,” The Crane Wife
2. “Grace Cathedral Hill,” Cast Away and Cutouts
3. “Billy Liar,” Her Majesty
4. “The Sporting Life,” Picaresque
5.“We Both Go Down Together,” Picaresque
6. “Engine Driver,” Picaresque
7. “Eli the Barrow Bow,” Picaresque
8. “The Gymnast High Above the Ground,” Her Majesty
9. “O Valencia,” The Crane Wife
10. “The Chimbley Sweep,” Her Majesty
11. “Culling of the Fold,” The Crane Wife
12. “The Legionnaire’s Lament,” Castaways and Cutouts
13. “Perfect Crime #2,” The Crane Wife
ENCORE
1. “A Case of You,” Joni Mitchell - Blue (COVER)
2. “I Was Meant for the Stage,” Her Majesty
