The King May Be Dead, but The Decemberists are Very Much Alive and Kicking

I have been fortunate enough to see The Decemberists in concert twice (well, one time it was Colin Meloy solo, but he played a handful of Decemberists songs).  They didn't fail to entertain this third time around.  They played at the Riverside, a beautiful theatre and a must-see for any person who considers themselves a Milwaukeean.  I attended with three friends: Michael, Carissa, and Sarah.  We decided not to face scary Wisconsin February weather, so we only had to stand in line for about fifteen minutes.  We got nice balcony seats with a fantastic view (see pictures below--click to make them larger).

The Decemberists opened with a surprising track: "Leslie Anne Levine" of The Crane Wife album.  I was excited to hear this track, as it isn't usually one they play in concert, at least the ones I've attended.  That got the crowd going, and prepped us for "Don't Carry It All," a catchy, uplifting track off their new CD, The King is Dead.  Throughout the night they did a great job of mixing up newer tracks with their old favorites.    I was thrilled to hear a handful of songs I hadn't heard them play in concert before: the rousing "July, July,"  the beautiful "Crane Wife 3," and the epic "The Bagman's Gambit."  Surprising favorites "A Cautionary Song" and "The Rake's Song" had the crowd screaming at the top of their lungs.

I was rather hesitant about their new CD because it seems a lot "tamer" than their old stuff.  Not such daring tunes, no real epic storytelling.  The Decemberists' usual subjects--prostitutes, historical time periods, leering men, tragic women, rape and murder, and Romeo and Juliet references--were absent.  However, new songs "Down by the Water," "Rox in the Box," and "This is Why We Fight" were fantastic live and revitalized my faith in the new album.

As usual, they drew in the crowd the most with their perfect sing-along "16 Military Wives" which, with its "la-di-da-di-da-di-didi-didi-da" refrain-of-sorts just asks for the audience to join in on the musical fun. During The Hazards of Love "A Short Fazed Hovel" Tour, Meloy started up a competition between the balcony and the floor, with the whole audience shouting those catchy notes over and over and over until Meloy was satisfied with our enthusiasm.  This time the oft-snarky Meloy decided to pick on the box seats, pushing them to sing louder and louder, and then having them drowned out by the larger floor and balcony sections.  Last concert they brought the audience in to sing a round of "Sons and Daughters," a beautiful piece that became even more spectacular when we audience members got to join in.  I was disappointed that they decided not to play that song this time around, but my disappointed was quickly overpowered.  Why?  Because they decided to play "The Mariner's Revenge Song" instead.

It's probably one of the catchiest, most epic songs they've written to date.  Here are the opening lines:

We are two mariners
Our ship's sole survivors
In this belly of a whale
Its ribs are ceiling beams
Its guts are carpeting
Guess we have some time to kill

(Oh, how that last line will be ironic later on.)

I've been waiting for them to play that song for years now, and I about died when Meloy told us he needed our help with a song: we had to scream and pretend we were being swallowed by a whale.  We practiced once, and then one more time when Meloy wasn't satisfied with our screaming.  "Call for your mothers!  Call for your children!  Draw it out!"  We did a pretty awesome job.  I have a great video of the song, but unfortunately Blogger is rather slow and won't upload it.  We'll try later.   Still, The Decemberists got into it as well, falling all over the stage and using dramatic hand gestures.

They ended with the happy and warm "June Hymn" in a double encore, and while I would have taken a third and fourth encore, I was content.  I was a fantastic concert.  Perks of the night were Sara Watkins joining on vocals, fiddle, and electric guitar.  Watkins was originally part of the trio that made up Nickel Creek, still a favorite band of mine.  Meloy also brought up an inside joke from his last visit, once more referring to the Milwaukee River as a canal, telling us we all look Dutch, and remarking that we were all going to ice skate home on the canal to go back to our little Dutch houses.  Too cute.

For anyone who hasn't discovered The Decemberists, now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.  The King is Dead is their most commercial, accessible album to date, so it's a good starting point.  However, you're not a true fan until you're in love with their older, darker, funnier, and rowdier music.  Here are a few good oldies to check out, but pretty much all of their stuff is amazing:

"We Both Go Down Together"
"Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)"
"The Engine Driver"
"Red Right Ankle"
"Summersong"
"The Island: Come & See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel the Drowning"

Enjoy!