Tag Team Concert Review: The Decemberists/My Brightest Diamond
After seeing The Decemberists last summer and My Brightest Diamond last fall, our expectations of their double bill were heightened to say the least. Hit the jump to see if they met our high demands. (Side Note: This concert review marks the 4th music post in the last week. My insidious plan to turn The Weekly Geek into a music blog seems to be working. Muuuahahaha.)
Frodo: Colin Meloy always puts on a good show. Even when he doesn't put on a good show, it's a good show. Did that make sense? Probably not. Either way, the swashbuckling balladeers that are The Decemberists sailed into the Paramount Theater on May 4th, bringing along Shara Worden and My Brightest Diamond. If you aren't familiar with MBD, check out our Sufjan Stevens Concert Review. We gave her a glowing recommendation, which definitely was reflected in this evening as well.
Caspian: It's worth noting that we were able to witness Shara's two sides during both those shows. With Sufjan, she was soft and lilting against the backdrop of a string quartet. With The Decemberists, she was edgy and rocking, even to the point of covering Led Zeppelin's "No Quarter." But whenever The Decemberists headline, they are able to win over the hearts of the audience with their sing-song delights.
Frodo: It is also worth noting that Shara's bass player was Nathan Lithgow, John Lithgow's son!
But I digress. The Decemberists always put on a freaking amazing show, and with the promise of making up for last year's Zoo concert where Colin was apparently ill, Meloy and the gang played an impressive array of songs. Starting out with the full “Crane Wife” medley was a pretty ballsy move, but the crowd loved it.
Caspian: Crowd participation is always the main goal of Colin's brand of storytelling and two of the night's high points involved audience cell phones. "Culling of the Fold," a Crane Wife outtake (supposedly too violent for the album), had him stealing a cell phone from the crowd and singing half the song to a call recipient. Later, he had the entire packed Paramount balcony pull out their mobile devices and wave them like lighters at a Scorpions concert.
Frodo: It really is all about making the crowd feel like they are experiencing something special for The Decemberists. Every show you feel like you are looking in on a bunch of great musicians just playing and doing what they truly love to do. Not only is Colin Meloy's music compelling, literate, insightful and beautiful, but it's truly infectious. He has this way with crowds, I am positive that if he asked the audience to do anything that night they would have obliged.
