The Decemberists

[Paul Davis]

I'm going to see the Decemberists live in a few weeks...has anyone seen them? How were they?

[Futureman]

I've seen 'em. It was a cozy gig with about 40 in attendence. The band was underwhelmed by the turn out, but put on a decent if uneventful show. Pretty much played straight from their catalogue.

[pabost]

I saw them this past January at Spaceland in L.A. I actually was not totally familiar with their catalog at that time, but it should suffice to say that I've bought all of their recordings since then. I really thought they were excellent.

[fuzztony]

I wish I could see them, hope they fly down to Sydney soon. Grandaddy are here next month, now that would be a nice cozy bill

Am spinning Her Majesty The...as I write this, just got it recently and love it. I imagine it goes without saying that the first album is an essential purchase?

[cyann&ben]

5 Songs (5song ep) is their first release. It's good, but my personal fav out of all 3 of their releases is Castaways & Cutouts.

Her magesty just made me really want to put in Castaways. Not that it wasn't good, but..

Their musicianship has improved much on Her Magesty. They sound more comfortable with Meloy's style these days.

Haven't seen them yet live, unfortunately.

[TheSadDebaser]

They're really really nice and tight. Not really "exciting" per se, I suppose, but still nice.

[Futureman]

My only complaint (and this simply reveals what I personally like about live shows) is that The Decemberists really don't do anything except play exactly what they've recorded. No interesting renditions, no twists, no experimentation. It's strictly a live version of the studio stuff.

[Arkady]

Any of you heard their new EP, The Tain? It's one 18-minute song, broken up into four or five different sections, or movements, if you will. There's a bit of a blues and even metal influence. It's fantastic.

And I agree with Futureman about the Decemberists live show. Personally, I loved it, but sometimes all I want is a straight live rendition of a band's studio material, and that's exactly what they deliver. That being said, there's something thrilling about hearing their off-kilter instrumentation in a live setting.

[johansen smith]

the Tain is probably the best thing the Decemberists have done.

[Miss Tasty Princess]

Originally posted by johansen smith
the Tain is probably the best thing the Decemberists have done.
How does it compare with the Horslips album of the same name and about the same legend from thirty years ago?

[Paul]

Ahh, the Horslips. There's a good ol' stroll down obscure memory lane...ha!

[Wallerton]

In response to Futureman's comments about the Decemberists not doing anything interesting live...

Just saw 'em last night at Rudyard's in Houston. I was impressed when Colin and Rachel traded places during "The Tain." Otherwise...

--they laughed about the fact that they played some of the first few songs too fast and about the fact that Colin forgot some of the words
--they did a spirited cover of the Outfield's one and only hit, "I Don't Wanna Lose Your Love Tonight" (or whatever the hell it's called) with Chris doing high falsetto lead vocals and encouraging the audience to sing along
--Colin teased Chris about being the band's resident Cannibal Corpse expert

Great show, all in all. Opening act Tom Heinl was high-larious.

Ya know, the Unicorns were supposed to play elsewhere in town last night, and I had decided (though not without misgivings) to go to that show, if only because a friend of mine was more excited about seeing them. Kinda glad it ended up being cancelled, though I'd still like to see the Unicorns.