1 Alasdair Roberts
Photography by Cortney Groves
The Decemberists and Alasdair Roberts in Chicago, November 11, 2006
Meloy and Company rake at Chicagoland’s hearts with inventive takes on established and soon-to-be favorites
By Crystal Nicholson & Angie Vo
Published: November 14th, 2006 | 5:02pm
We sent two reporters to the same show ...
CRYSTAL NICHOLSON REPORTS
As the grand literati of rock, the Decemberists have without doubt the politest fans in indiedom. After Alasdair Roberts, the celtic crooning opening band, left the stage, the lights dimmed and a resonant voice echoed through the Riviera’s faux decaying walls. The voice commanded the audience to first admire the architecture of the building, and then to introduce themselves to neighbors with 10 words or less. Strangers smiled and shook hands and then the voice vividly commanded the fans to close their eyes, imagine themselves on a cliff over a sprawling countryside ... and then picture ... the Decemberists.
The Decemberists took the stage with the charisma of vaudevillian performers and the hybrid musicianship of time-travelers. Eight red paper lanterns haloed the heads of the Decemberists in front of a Japanese drawing backdrop of a rural village. In traditional non-traditional Decemberists costume, Chris Funk (steel guitar) wore a intimidating black suit with top hat. On the other side of the stage, Jenny Conlee put a little rebellion into the accordion, rocking out and floor-gazing for the entire performance. Nate Query switched basses mid-song, from standup to electric and back, to accompany the old-world and new-world recipe that is the Decemberists' music. They perform with a clear love of their compositions. Masters of their instruments, their execution is technically flawless and you could almost see the music theory running through their brains as they perform blast by blast.
With 2005's Picaresque, the Decemberists broke through the indie membrane, landing a spot on Capitol Records. The Crane Wife, an album based on an old Japanese folk tale of a man who marries a woman who weaves as a crane, is the most ambitious Decemberists project to date. The Crane Wife is a flowing dramatic epic of an album, but in its grandeur some production falls flat.
Live, the band injected more life into the album’s material, bringing out the majestic and the dynamic on the more lackluster recorded songs. Loud and unapologetic, Meloy and company massaged the album’s heart until it was resurrected on the stage of the Riviera. And the musical performance did not overshadow Meloy’s lyricism. He sang his devilish storytelling of voices from beyond and love and lust with an angelic voice.
Throughout the show Meloy toyed with the audience, heckling those who came in late and supervising a heated sing-along standoff between halves of the venue. In honor of the recent election, Meloy devoted "Sons and Daughters" (“hear all the bombs fade away”) to the Democrats’ political victory. Emerging for an encore, half of the band performed (at their most emo) “Red Right Ankle” and then maintained the groove of “A Cautionary Song” while the other half of the band hilariously reenacted the final battle scene of J.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit in the middle of the audience.
The Crane Wife opens with the lines, “And under the bows unbowed / she had no heart so hardened.” The Decemberists have stood tall in their four years of music-making, yet retain the soft innocence and burning enthuse of those newborn to success. With enough energy in them to fuel a symphony and a new sixth member, the band will no doubt find new musical epics to reveal and new folk tale-ridden worlds to uncover.
ANGIE VO REPORTS
Winter came early to Chicago, but when in the form of winsome lyricists Alasdair Roberts and Colin Meloy, the sold-out crowd at the Riviera Theatre did not seem to mind and, in fact, reveled in it.
Alasdair Roberts started the night off with his tender brand of British and Scottish-inspired folk. Dressed in all orange, Roberts remained seated throughout his set, which included songs such as the standout “The Cruel War” from his upcoming album, The Amber Gatherers (Drag City). The singer-songwriter and guitarist, who lives in Glasgow, was in the States for a month tour, at turns opening for label mate Joanna Newsom in addition to the Decemberists.
Before the Decemberists took to the stage, the clipped voice of a Englishman spilled out over the crowd in a recording, jovially asking the audience to be “polite and courteous and introduce yourself to your neighbors” and to close their eyes and “imagine standing on a stone alcove…”, unraveling the first yarn of a band lauded for its masterful storytelling.
The Decemberists, led by vocalist-guitarist Meloy, quickly dispelled any doubts of major-label mediocrity or a negligence of their past. The Portland-based band, who recently left longtime label Kill Rock Stars for Capitol Records and were touring to support their fourth album, The Crane Wife, started its set with “Leslie Anne Levine,” followed immediately with “Engine Driver.” With a notable exception to the half-joking boos when a request for “The Mariner’s Revenge” was denied, the one-and-a-half hour set mostly elicited squeals of joy and excited exclamations.
Never content to play songs in a rote manner, the Decemberists vividly filled out any spare moments by stepping up the usual tempo, bringing the lush, fairytale tracks to life. In addition to old favorites, the Decemberists peppered their set with songs from their latest album, including “Yankee Bayonet,” “O Valencia!” and all three parts of title track “The Crane Wife.” Though the set was interspersed with sorrowful songs, Meloy and company buoyed the audience’s upbeat attitude with a shouting contest during the chorus of “16 Military Wives” and sending three band members to weave through the crowd while playing the set’s finale, “A Cautionary Song,” and to re-enact the final fight scene of J.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbitt. Though this particular song seemed a bit bizarre as a closer, the pomp and bravado assuredly displayed by the Decemberists thus far left them untouchable to criticism and brought their set to a celebratory end.
Issue #29
Comments
Please login to be able to comment on this article.
more