I’d
quickly
booked tickets for this one before picking up The Decemberists latest album
"I'll Be Your Girl", and I have to say I initially regretted my
haste. On initial listens, I found it a real curate's egg (a reference that
would no doubt delight the studious and intellectual Decemberists main-man
Colin Meloy), their usual crafted and cerebral Americana/ alt-rock bring
subsumed in occasional jarring swathes of suspiciously 80's mainstream-sounding
synth. After their REM "tribute" record (the excellent "The King
Is Dead"), was this their Hall And Oates tribute? Horrible thought!!
Well, I
was committed, so put some work in, and repeated listens made more sense of the
album, so, thus buoyed, I set off under inky skies, parking in Trenchard Level
9 and hitting the venue at 7.45 for a much-needed wee! Support Hop Along from
Philadelphia, on in short order, were initially a decent blend of US
alt-college pop and slightly countrified Americana, with tumbling drums and
chiming ringing guitars augmenting the main feature, that of the diminutive
female vocalist's impressive vocal range. Not averse to shouting at the
audience either; "how y'all doing... ANSWER ME!" Some intriguing
moments in their set, however I became increasingly unsure as to whether the
clash between the octave straddling vocals and discordant guitar licks were
deliberately "challenging", or just unrehearsed, and overall the set
became a bit of a muddle. A lot of one, actually. Frustrating, really, as there
might be a pleasant little band there...
Another
quick loo trip turned into a real squeeze to get back, as the place - an early
sell-out tonight - felt utterly rammed, everywhere! Still, I inveigled my way
to a small space near the front, house left. The Decemberists took the stage at
9 to a devotional welcome, opening with a folky, strum- and harmonica-along
"Don't Carry It All", setting the stage appropriately for the first
part of the set; initially it felt akin to a backwoods campfire singalong,
relaxed and inclusive, with understated renditions of (often gory and
horror/death-based!) story-based numbers. An early "Shankhill Butchers"
was a perfect example; segued in with "Blackleg Miner", this Violent
Femmes-like death ballad ended with mainman Colin Meloy remarking, "That's
2 songs in 1 about mining; so don't leave here complaining you didn't get
enough mining songs!"
Before
that, we'd had a quite beautiful version of "Make You Better", the
band delivering their best number as if made of China, and a soupcon of Meloy's
erudute and entertaining banter ("we're from Portland, Oregon... Oh,
America... we carry our apologies with us!") However, the incongruous and
slightly jarring glitter stomp of "We All Die Young", which, hey, I just
flat out don’t like, nonetheless heralded a sea change in the set, as
thereafter it got noticeably rockier; "Queens Rebuke" was an
unpalatable prof workout, but the dark, flippant "Rake's Song"
rescued matters, and "Severed" was excellent, despite - or even
because of! - the pulsing synth. And this after I’d criticised the synth
overload. I'm a contrary bugger, aren't I?
"Sons"
ended the set with a hopeful and topical singalong of "hear all the bombs
fade away", then the encore saw both sides of the Decemberists' approach
tonight; back to the gloomy campfire for "Rusalka/Wild Rushes", then
a soaring, synth-embellished "Once In My Life", Meloy stealing lyric
snippets from The Smiths "Please Please Please". However, the
highlight was saved until last; after being advised by Colin; "one more
number before we send you into the Bristolese night... [I mean] Bristolian? Is
that right? I thought you were having a piss...!", then being coached for
our reaction to being swallowed by a whale (and been advised to make the whale
signal at Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard, at their forthcoming gig here!),
the snarky sea shanty "Mariners Revenge" was ace. Lots of swayalong
audience participation, then the sight of a huge inflatable whale floating over
the audience! Bizarre yet fun, and an apt way to end tonight’s proceedings.
Grabbed a
list then hit the road, reflecting on another unique yet entertaining
Decemberists gig. They showed 2 distinct elements of their work, and, despite the
unwanted (by me, anyway) “Glitter Band tribute” and a slight veer towards prog
overload, I enjoyed them both!
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