SOUNDTRACK: THE DECEMBERISTS 20th Anniversary Celebration Streaming Shows (April 11, 2021).
Even though I love live shows, I don’t really like streaming shows. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with them, it’s just that I don’t tend to watch live music much at home. And, most of the time i tend to forget the show until the stream is over.
But since Sarah and I were supposed to see The Decemberists and our shows were cancelled, I though I’d treat her to these shows for her birthday.
The first show was pretty great–a deep dive into lots of old songs.
As they start, Colin says this is the first time we’ve played….ever together as a live band.
They open this set with Don’t Carry It All from The King is Dead. Colin plays harmonica and I was really surprised to realize that drummer John Moen is singing the higher backing vocals (I’d always assumed it was keyboardist Jenny Conlee).
They stick with King for “All Arise” where you can really see Jenny’s massive keyboard array!
There’s a little extended jam at the end, which Colin calls “a proper honky tonk.”
They move to What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World album for “Wrong Year” which Colin says is emblematic of the previous year. Colin plays the acoustic 12 string and Chris Funk is on the electric 12 string.
Jenny claps: “since there’s no audience we have to support ourselves. Should we clap for ourselves?”
Colin says the tour (that was recently cancelled) would have been their 20th anniversary tour. These song would have made up the set list.
This next song is early mid period that John Moen: he was just laying around being a man about town a the time. “On the Bus Mall” [from Picaresque] sounds great with Nate Query getting a great deep sound on the upright bass.
Colin has as sip of wine and mentions that someone has made a supercut of every time he drinks a sip of wine and goes mmm. “It’s normal to go mmm after a drink of wine. it heightens the experience.” And yet when you put hem all together….
Up next is a song about dead children and this is the first of many. “Leslie Anne Levine” (from Castaways and Cutouts) sounds great with the 12 string, the accordion and bowed upright bass.
Colin jokes that it wouldn’t be an authentic Decemberists experience without him forgetting lot of words–so far I’m doing alright.
Up next is a glorious “The Crane Wife Parts 1, 2 & 3,” always fun to heae these together. Nate’s bowed bass sounds deep and resonant but the song gets even bigger when he switches to electric bass. Jenny is playing organ and glockenspiel. There’s a seamless transition to part 2 with Chris Funk on pedal steel. As they switch to Part 3, Jenny keeps the song going on organ while Colin gets an 8 string acoustic guitar.
It’s followed immediately by “The Island” which sounds so good I really hope to see this song live one day. I love the intensity of Jenny’s keys and the great riffing and they even switch it up in the middle as John takes over keys, Jenny plays accordion, Chris is on pedal steel and Nate’s on the bowed bass. The end is magnificent. As they wrap up Colin jokes, “those were some jazz chords you were playing, there, Johnny.”
Colin states that they went through strict COVID protocol so they could do the next song. “Raincoat Song” is a deep cut==a pretty acoustic song with both of them singing into the same mic. (“I haven’t been so close to another man in many months.” “Only harmonize into one microphone with you pod.”)
As they get ready for the next song, Colin says this is an epic jam set, apologies of epic jams are not your thing. Jenny says that if they were on stage during this delay they’d either jam out or tell dad jokes: Nate: “How do you make an octopus laugh? Tentickles.”
As Chris starts warming u his new guitar Colin says “John Carpenter on guitar.” That’s the biggest complement you can give him.
Then we are off to a mystical land with “Rusalka, Rusalka” a new song I don’t know very well. I really enjoyed the sound of it and need to check out the later cuts on I’ll be Your Girl. The song has Chris on mandolin and harp samples from Jenny.
Colin gets a guitar but changes his mind as asks for The Reverend instead. Jenny plays circus/instrument changing music.
The new guitar sounds great, and indeed the whole of “Make You Better” sounds fantastic.
Before introducing the final song, Colin says “Stay safe out there. We’re nearing the end of this thing. If you can get your vaccine, get it; mask up, stay socially distanced.” “Not a very sexy PSA for a rock n roll show.”
But anyhow, this is about people who drowned, so things could be ….worse.
They end with a rocking “Hazard of Love (Part 4)” with Chris Funk on pedal steel.
It was weird hearing these live, quite rocking songs and there being no audience to cheer. Even if I hate noisy crowds, the silence is worse.
[READ: November 20, 2020] “How to Practice”
This was Ann Patchett’s second long form non-fiction essay in six months in the New Yorker.
This one is all about getting rid of your stuff.
In my family, we treasure heirlooms and even things that have only minor sentimental value. We’re not hoarders but we have a lot of stuff.
Patchett opens this essay by talking about a friend’s father who died. He had amassed all kinds of things. Each new stage of his life brought on a new interest or hobby–and the accoutrement that went with it. Getting rid of things proved to be a burden to his children.
Because Patchett grew up with them and her friend’s father considered her like a daughter, he wanted her to get something meaningful. For instance, a particular painting. She liked it but “either you have a place for that sort of thing or you don’t.”
But after allocating the important stuff there was so much more
How had one man acquired so many extension cords, so many batteries and rosary beads? Continue Reading »
When they play live, each band member wears a costume (usually the giant eyeball, but not always) and aside from the main composer for the band who died two years ago, no one really knows who is in the band.
I Just Read About That... 