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Words by Ann Svilar :: Images by Dave Vann
The Decemberists :: 10.19.06 :: The Warfield :: San Francisco, CA
The Decemberists :: 10.19.06 :: Warfield |
The house lights drop, and we hear a voice before we hear music or see faces at The Warfield. The voice tells us to, "Be courteous... introduce yourself to your neighbor... look at the architecture and check for exit signs." My eyebrows raise; I think I've only been asked to check for exit signs while sitting on planes, or at a play - maybe Disneyland? I've also never seen The Warfield with such docile and orderly beer-lines, or waited for a show to begin next to a ten-year-old boy.
There is hype around The Decemberists, an indie-rock-pop, progressive folk band that has recently signed on and produced an album under a major label - The Crane Wife with Capitol Records. Now they are filling places like The Warfield. I have heard someone say that they are, "The Pink Floyd of indie rock." This is not going to be a typical show.
Colin Meloy :: 10.19.06 :: Warfield |
As the backdrop falls and the lights rise, we see a curtain with an elaborate, interesting design, like the artwork on their website – there are Japanese huts, trees, and a crane. The entire band enters costumed in variations of black, except for their lead man, Colin Meloy - his suit is a pale hue.
Each person takes a position amongst the pretty red lights like they have been directed to do so, "You go stage-right - I'll go stage left." It becomes obvious that The Decemberists' live performance is not just a musical event but largely a theatrical one too.
These musicians, sometimes mock thespians are Colin Meloy (lead singer, songwriter, guitar), Chris Funk (guitar, pedal steel, violin, and many other instruments), Jenny Conlee (keys, accordion, organ, melodica), Nate Query (bass guitar, stand-up bass), and John Moen (drums, melodica). And the newest addition, Lisa Molinaro, is a supporting musician for The Crane Wife tour and is introduced early by Colin as being someone who can play more instruments than he can. This is true. It was awe-inspiring to witness how many instruments Lisa Molinaro touched in two hours. She became a highlight on many songs, with her comfortable stage presence and soothing back-up vocals. In fact, even though Colin Meloy is the obvious front man, each member had a moment to glow. The entire band played multiple instruments. At one point even the drummer joined Jenny Conlee for a dual keyboard display.
The Decemberists :: 10.19.06 :: Warfield |
The Decemberists' show was somewhat of a one-set-wonder, opening with "The Crane Wife 3" and packing in sixteen songs before they were done just shy of 11:00 pm. Colin Meloy majored in Creative Writing in college, so it comes as no surprise that where The Decemberists shine is in their unique lyrical style. Their songs include words and names that don't exactly roll off the tongue, like "Arabesques," "parallax," "Sycorax," "Odalisque," and "bowsunbelle." But they somehow pull it off and make those words sound like they do belong over the melody.
Their songs are tales, with an old sailor or veteran kind of feel. The mood of the music is fit for a small basement bar on a dock somewhere, surrounded by cold frothy mugs and dark beer.
Molinaro & Meloy :: 10.19.06 :: Warfield |
The Decemberists are a band that is focused on entertaining, with each member invested in each musical step and a high-energy Colin Meloy jumping around the stage stomping his feet, engaging the audience whenever he can. At one point during the middle of a song, he stopped singing and grabbed a kid's cell phone, then proceeded to call the kid's mom and sing to her through the receiver. The Decemberists also constantly encouraged the crowd to clap, stomp, and to sing along. It's endearing to see a band pay such close attention to their audience, but after a while the crowd engagement became a bit much. Early on, Colin led the audience in a group vocal warm-up where we had to repeatedly sing, "This is a wonderful show. This is a wonderful show." I felt like I was at summer camp, or that I had paid $25 to boost his ego.
The Decemberists :: 10.19.06 :: Warfield |
Some highlights included an almost funky "The Perfect Crime No. 2," a sometimes ambient "The Island," lovely vocals during "Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)," a lively "16 Military Wives," and a crowd-pleaser "O Valencia!" with catchy repetitive chord progressions and Colin drawing out the last note of most phrases - their signature sound.
Finally, Chris Funk and John Moen made their way to the middle of the crowd. Colin led them through a balancing act where John stood on Chris's back. The crowd cheered and the entire band re-entered to center-stage and all posed in various positions around Colin. The show was over. Can The Decemberists be coined "The Pink Floyd of indie rock?" No, they are nowhere near that profound. But they complement each other as musicians, and they are entertaining, great storytellers, and a spectacle that is worth repeating.
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