The Decemberists - The NorVa
< author: The Franze >
Last night Relative Theory Records sponsered the Decemberists show at the NorVa, of course many members of the RTR staff were there to take it all in. I personally showed up late to the show and had just missed My Brightest Diamond’s set, so if anyone feels the desire to come through and add a review of her set to this, then by all means do so.
Last night i walked in to a packed house, and considering this was the first time that the Decemberists had ever played this area, i was pleased with the turnout. The first mental notes i made was the appearance of the stage. Colin Meloy and Co. are quite possibly the classiest band to hit the stage. Four large white bulbs adorned the stage in front of a beautiful backdrop that looks like it could have been hand painted, depicting a peacful river and the wildlife around it. When the Decemberists come on stage they have this perfect dress code where they all kind of match, but at the same time each members outfit is just different enough to make it not cheesy. All dressed in suits and looking spiffy.
The show begins, and right out of the gates come the first two tracks from their newest release The Crane Wife. The Crane Wife pt. 3 was a good opener, and The Island that followed was a dream come true as this is possibly my favorite song (/ set of songs) by the band. My issue at first was that after 3 songs into the set the band still looked completely uninterested in the show that they were performing, the songs sounded fantastic, but there were a lot of blank stares from band members who looked as though they could care less.
This all changed drastically as the night went on. Breezing through quite a few Crane Wife tracks, some of the highlights of the night included: The Infanta, which was delivered at the perfect time and with the best storytime lead in Colin could have mustered up, Here I Dreamt I Was an Architecht, one of only two songs played from my favorite Decemberists record (Castaways and Cutouts) was a great crowd pleaser, and Sixteen Military Wives, was a beautiful sing along. Throughout the night there were conversations with the audience, pushup contests on stage between the band members, intentional mispronunciations of Norfolk (yes… Nor’Fuck’ …you guessed it) and many other instances to show that the band had indeed broken out of their shell and warmed up to us.
To close the show they played an unbelievable version of When the War Came, that displayed Colin’s ‘Rockstar trapped in a pretentious art rockers body’ side as he wailed out solos rolling on the ground, and broke strings and threw his (gorgeous) Les Paul around on stage. The encore brought a Fleetwood Mac cover, and the crowd favorite Mariner’s Revenge Song, and the night ended with close to two thousand happy fans leaving the NorVa still singing along to songs that had ended over an hour ago, and discussing the setlist.
My opinion of the night: I loved the concert. I thought the look of the show was top notch and the sound quality that they pulled off was unmatched by most bands that come through the NorVa. My only qualm from the whole night was the setlist itself. It drew very heavily from The Crane Wife, which i dont mind too much, but almost every song from the album was played. This would not be so bad, but i feel like there were too many essential Decemberists back catalog songs that were sacrificed for the new tunes. We Both Go Down Together, The Engine Driver, The Legionnaire’s Lament, The Soldiering Life, The Chimbley Sweep, and I Was Meant For The Stage all were left out. I definitely think that instead of a Fleetwood Mac cover as encore song #1 that one of these great tunes should have taken the spot.
All in all it is hard to complain when you get to see an amazing concert. This band is on top of there game, and their decision to sign with Capitol has only helped them as far as i am concerned. All of the band equipment is top of the line, and they have never sounded better.
April 2nd, 2007 at 10:26 am
I am le jealous.
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:54 pm
Nice write-up. Here are some thoughts on Shara’s set, if anyone’s interested.
“After listening to them play Laura Veirs’ Year of Meteors [buy] on repeat for 75 minutes, Shara wandered onto the stage. I had been hoping she’d be in one of her very proper dresses, but she was in casual attire–white knit pants, a white top, and a fitted white hooded shirt. She did, however, sport her normal updo, which is like a (far) less eccentric Lisa Lobsinger creation [link]. (Not in shape, but in… puffiness?) She stood in front of the microphone and sang ‘Feeling Good,’ sans band, and then mentioned, ‘That’s my favourite Nina Simone song.’ Her band then joined, also dressed in all white, and they began ‘Golden Star.’ ‘Magic Rabbit,’ ‘Disappear,’ ‘Workhorse,’ and ‘Freak Out’ followed. Her voice and delivery were incredibly true to the album, but never boring.
I’d heard Shara has a bubbly personality, but didn’t know the extent of it until this evening. While her music has a distinctly dark feel, she brightens every song by jumping, twirling, and dancing around the stage. (Her bassist also contributed with several high jump-kicks of his own.) On multiple occasions, she asked the very accepting audience, ‘Are you ready?’ The highlight of her set, in my opinion, was a modified version of the dramatic album closer ‘Workhorse.’ Before its normal conclusion, she paused, walked to the edge of the stage, and put on a pair of oversized white sunglasses. She then reached down and produced two neon green glowsticks and began her personal mini-rave. After throwing about eight sticks into the audience, she returned to the keys and began singing and dancing her way through ‘Tainted Love’ [link]. ‘Freak Out’ was also a treat, despite the fact I find Shara’s voice a bit shrill during the scream-sung chorus. She’s obviously been working on her rockstar moves–or has them down pat naturally, which wouldn’t be that large of a surprise, given how uncontrived her entire performance was–because she showcased a (very feminine) rockstar guitar slink and, during this particular song, head shake.”
The rest here.
April 2nd, 2007 at 2:42 pm
An amazing show indeed. I should comment that there was an older element to the crowd which really surprised me. I’d say a quarter of the crowd was 40 or over and the VIP section was almost all 40 or over. Yet, everyone knew all the lyrics. In fact, I saw one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen as a husband, wife, and daughter (of maybe 8 years old) stood together on the railing of the second floor and sung every single lyric of the entire setlist. I wish I had the Decemberists when I was 8 and I wish my parents were hip enough to take me. For some reason, NKOTB’s Merry Merry Christmas album seemed like such a brighter option.
I noticed in the review that July July wasn’t mentioned and I thought that was definitely one of the highlights of the show. I really would have liked to hear The Legionnaire’s Lament, but alas, ’twas not disappointed.
Now, to catch Birdmonster on Thursday. If you haven’t heard them, move your asses to The Boot.
April 3rd, 2007 at 10:34 am
I am not too big on the song July July. It is what it is, but i personally do not feel its a great accomplishment of the bands.
Thanks for the reply’s and the MBD review. Im kind of sad that i missed it.
April 3rd, 2007 at 3:14 pm
I thought My Brightest Diamond was fantastic, my only complaint would be that her set was way too short. Here is a link to see her performing “Tainted Love”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EP6vmzj6fac
April 5th, 2007 at 11:51 pm
Good lord, you don’t know how lucky you really are. I was at the Messiah College show the night before, and while they played a good set, it sounds like it was nothing compared to what you guys got. I’ve seen them four times and have yet to see “The Infanta” played live, which is one of my favorite Decemberists songs. And I can’t believe they played “Mariner’s Revenge” as part of the encore! I’ve only experienced that once (and it is an experience). This makes me wish I still lived down there (although I thought about making the trip when I heard they were playing the NorVa).
April 10th, 2007 at 6:47 pm
I always skip July July on Castways and Cutouts. Without that song, that album would flow so much better.
April 11th, 2007 at 6:02 am
In Atlanta, they did not play a super-Crane Wife-heavy set, probably because they were here only a few months ago and did play most of the album then. In other words, it might be more about them being in Norfolk for the first time? My wife and I brought our 6 year old to the show–it’s her second time seeing them–and she had a blast. They didn’t do “Mariner’s Revenge” the last time they played here (though they did the two previous shows), so she was especially excited to see the whale amble out onto stage to swallow the band.
April 12th, 2007 at 2:01 pm
I agree
April 14th, 2007 at 10:24 am
I couldn’t believe they didn’t play more/any from Her Majesty… God, I love that album. Fully agree about the Fleetwood Mac song that should have been switched for older material. Red Right Ankle or Los Angeles I’m Yours would have brought the house down. I’m pretty sure 90% of the audience didn’t even know that Mac song.