Monday, October 23, 2006

Here All the Bombs Fade Away: The Decemberists at The Wiltern LG, 10/21/2006

Los Angeles concert-goers are notorious for their lack of enthusiasm. I can't count how many times I've been told that a perfectly good rock and roll show was ruined by a seemingly disinterested crowd of Angelinos who would have been too cool to do more than clap unenthusiastically had John Lennon himself come back from the dead to play during the encore. Somebody must have forgotten to tell the crowd at the Decemberists show what city they were in last night, because I haven't been to many shows in my life in any city where the crowd and the performers were so obviously in love with eachother. In fact, the last time I'd had such a perfect experience at an L.A. show was about a year ago- the last time The Decemberists were in town.

There is something magical about front man Colin Meloy and his merry band. The Decemberists should be one of the most pretentious and boring bands in music. This is a band that favors writing ten minute long songs that retell old Japanese folktales and Irish myths. Almost every critic who writes about them is quick to point out that their lyrics are much more literate than almost every other rock song ever written. Musically, the band likes to experiment with tons of bizarre instruments and various styles, never sticking to one sound for long. Their songs are usually period narratives, telling tales of Mariners seeking revenge, suicide pacts, and Chinese Trapeze artists. In theory, it should be really lame and indulgent. Yet somehow, The Decemberists more than pull off what could have been annoying and precious- in fact, they are one of the most fun, entertaining, engaging, inventive, catchy, and insanely listenable bands around.

Playing at the Wiltern last night, one of my favorite venues in Los Angeles, the band rocked through a lively, fast paced set that lasted almost two hours but passed like lightning. They played almost their entire phenomenal new album, "The Crane Wife," a lot of cuts from their 2005 release, "Picaresque," and a healthy sprinkling of hits from their first two albums. Opening with the first two tracks from "The Crane Wife,” including the mind bending, prog rock epic "The Island" (which has a much longer full title, tells a tale of a mysterious island where a murder occurs, and features a kick ass synth solo- yeah, this band can even pull off synth solos,) Meloy was in full control of the stage from the get go. Joking with the audience, organizing call and responses, and even leading us in "vocal warm-ups" so we could sing along, Meloy clearly loves being in front of a crowd, and we loved him back. This is the rare rock star who lets you see how much he enjoys being a rock star- there is no snobby, too cool to be there attitude that many front-men favor. For two hours, Meloy kept the energy up, making it clear just how much fun he was having.

When he launched into live staple "Los Angeles, I'm Yours," the crowd erupted. Meloy's love/ hate letter to the city summed up the contradictory feelings many of residents feel to the city of Angels, and we sang along lyrics like: "How I abhor this place/Its sweet and bitter taste/ Has left me wretched, retching on all fours /Los Angeles, I’m yours" with gusto and abandon. The new, Smiths and Talking Heads influenced track "The Perfect Crime 2" had the crowd on the floor dancing wildly (another thing that apparently Los Angeles crowds don't ever do,) while the gorgeous "Sons and Daughters" turned into a beautiful sing along that felt like a giant group hug.

The encore was even better. After letting the crowd go crazy for a few minutes, screaming and stomping for more, the band came back out. Meloy, for the first time all night, didn't pick up a guitar and the band launched into a terrific new song. Just singing, Meloy was free to launch into an all out Morrissey impression, reaching out to an adoring crowd, gyrating wildly, singing on his knees melodramatically, grabbing an audience member's cell phone and dialing a random number and singing the new songs awesome, slightly creepy lyrics (Cut 'im up, boy,") into the phone, while whipping the mike chord with abandon. I don't know what this song is called, but I can't wait to hear the next album if it's as good as the new track they played last night. They closed the set with a rousing, extended version of "16 Military Wives," with Meloy splitting the crowd in two for the sing along, getting us to follow his every command. This is a performer who is confident and in command of his audience, and clearly loves it. The audience was going nuts, and Meloy couldn't stop smiling through the whole show. At the end of the night, he admitted (ambiguous lyrics to his ode the city aside,) how much fun he has every time he comes out to L.A.

The feeling was more than mutual.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOST