speed of dark

Although Colin Meloy joked at last Saturday's concert at the Hollywood Bowl that the encore song, "The Chimbley Sweep," was autobiographical, the only song that truthfully fits that description is "I Was Meant For the Stage." Indie Mom and I have now seen the Decemberists twice (See Decemberists at the Wiltern, Oct. 2006), and both occasions were a rollicking good time that revolved around the antics of Meloy.

This time he didn't take over anyone's cell phone, and it also seemed as if the other members took more of a playful part in the show. Twice Meloy, keyboardist/accordionist Jenny Conlee, and Nate Query with his stand-up bass were all rolling around on the stage floor as the music climbed to intense crescendo.

Meloy obviously relished performing these songs with orchestra accompaniment, even when their only role was to supply handclaps. Listen to the beginning of "Odalisque" for his comment about trying to recreate the effect of a full orchestra in the studio with a single string musician. That's Indie Mom laughing after he says that.

It's tough to pick a single song out of the setlist, but I'd say the sad spy story "The Bagman's Gambit" might benefit the most from the orchestral backing. I do wish they had played "The Mariner's Revenge," however. It would have been so cool to have the reserved L.A. Phil screaming as the whale brings the ship down.


"Jenny's Jazz Odyssey" is not a new song--it's just some doodling Jenny did when Colin's guitar unexpectedly failed. You can hear her say, "Crunchy guitar: not good!" At least, crunchy guitar isn't good in a Decemberists' song.

Pretty soon, they launched into "The Perfect Crime" without the guitar, Colin bouncing around like Richard Simmons in an exercise video.

As in the previous concert, it appears ironic for our L.A. audience to applaud the derogatory lyrics to "Los Angeles, I'm Yours." But after all, who is more familiar with the city's vanities and faults than its own residents? We above all other listeners understand and appreciate the love/hate relationship Meloy is singing about. Non-residents can just wish he'd written about your city.
Meloy really hammed it up for the encore, parading around on a narrow catwalk between the pit and the rest of the audience and asking everyone to hold up their cell phones (no one has lighters or matches anymore, but they don't go anywhere without their phone). Meloy said all the little lights reminded him of his bedroom ceiling when he was in 6th grade, to which guitarist Chris Funk commented, "What were you taking?" LOL

If you have the opportunity to attend one of their dates with an orchestra, it is well worth it--an extraordinary experience, not just another concert. See tour schedule below.


Setlist, live recordings from the Hollywood Bowl, July 7, 2007:

1. The Crane Wife, parts 1 and 2
2. The Infanta
3. We Both Go Down Together
4. The Bagman's Gambit
5. Odalisque
6. Jenny's Jazz Odyssey
7. The Perfect Crime #2
8. Los Angeles, I'm Yours
9. The Tain, parts I-IV
10.The Tain, part V
11. O Valencia
12. I Was Meant For the Stage
13. Encore: The Chimbley Sweep

Tour Schedule:
Jul 13 2007 - Chastain Park (w/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra), Atlanta, GA
Jul 14 2007 - Merriweather Post Pavilion (w/Baltimore Symphony Orchestra), Columbia, MD
Jul 15 2007 - Mann Center (w/The Mann Festival Orchestra), Philadelphia, PA
Jul 16 2007 - Central Park Summerstage, New York, NY
Jul 18 2007 - Millenium Park (w/Grant Park Orchestra), Chicago, IL
Jul 22 2007 - Edgefield Winery, Portland, OR
Sep 14 200 - Monolith Festival Red Rocks Amphitheater, CO
Sep 16 2007 - Austin City Limits Festival, Austin, TX
Sep 22 2007 - Paradiso, Amsterdam
Sep 23 2007 - Live Music Hall, Koln
Sep 24 2007 - Batschkapp, Frankfurt
Sep 25 2007 - Substage, Karlsruhe
Sep 27 2007 - Arena, Vienna
Sep 28 2007 - Muffathalle, Munich
Sep 29 2007 - Postbahnhof, Berlin
Sep 30 2007 - Grosse Freiheit, Hamburg
Oct 2 2007 - Royal Festival Hall, London
Oct 3 2007 - Junction, Cambridge
Oct 5 2007 - Wulfren Hall, Wolverhampton
Oct 6 2007 - Anson Rooms, Bristol
Oct 7 2007 - Academy, Oxford
Oct 9 2007 - Vicar Street, Dublin
Oct 10 2007 - Academy, Liverpool
Oct 11 2007 - Academy, Newcastle
Oct 12 2007 - Academy. Glasgow, Scotland
Oct 13 2007 - Metropolitan University, Leeds

Related posts:
Concert openers Andrew Bird and Band of Horses
Pre-concert songs
Yahoo news article about this concert (The article incorrectly states that "16 Military Wives" was played)