Originally posted by mark e smith:
and still had time for a fag break.Rhett showed up then!
Decemberists and Clearlake
Originally posted by mark e smith:Lulu and…ggw?
I thought clearlake were pretty mediocre. I guess I should not have found the loudest two people in the whole of christendom to talk to whilst they were playing…….
Oh yeah, you're only loud when you HECKLE!
Originally posted by brennser:
missed Clearlake
thought the Decemberists were good, maybe not quite as good as the backbar, but good - July July, Leslie Ann Levine and Chimbley sweep were personal favorites
LOVED The Tain which I heard for the first time (cue rant by lulu) :) Sure, hope there's some stuff on it you don't have already.
I liked it better than the backstage show, but that may be due in part to the fact that this time I could see. Although, the backstage was the first time I'd heard or seen them, and you never forget your first time. :D
My observations:
(1) Colin Meloy is like the indie record store clerk you really like (maybe even have a crush on because of those dimples) and you hope, hope, hope he's there when you stop in to browse. He's cool and geeky in that indie way, but he's the only one who's nice, helpful, supportive and chatty. He always commends your choices, and gently steers you to something you maybe haven't heard of but should like. And you just have to buy it because he recommended it.
(2) Do y'all think that the band's sound and songs are all Colin, or was there really some crazy serendipity that brought five kinda cooky yet indie musicians together to make this really original sound?
(3) If you didn't like Decemberists, you'd be quite judgemental of Colin's really strange intonations and pronunciations. "Isn't he from Portland?' But I love them, so no judgement here!
(4) That other guitarist looks like he should be in Grandaddy.
(5) I loved the Tain too, but not sure I would dig it on record. And I might have preferred to hear four other songs. BUT, I still loved it; thought it was a cool show ender, especially since they were here last just a few months ago.
(6) Upright double basses are cool.
(7) I did not say one word during all of Decemberists. I sent mental love.
Are you going to let him talk about me like that, Lulu?
I totally agree that the show was fantastic. While The Tain was a little much to take all in one sitting (especially hearing it for the first time), the rest more than made up for it. And I had picked up a copy of the Tain EP before the show, so I was really hesitant to listen to it, but turns out I like it MUCH better on record than I do live.
And it was nice meeting for you for a second, brennser.
I totally agree that the show was fantastic. While The Tain was a little much to take all in one sitting (especially hearing it for the first time), the rest more than made up for it. And I had picked up a copy of the Tain EP before the show, so I was really hesitant to listen to it, but turns out I like it MUCH better on record than I do live.
And it was nice meeting for you for a second, brennser.
Originally posted by mark e smith:
Originally posted by Skeeter:Wasnt a guy in a red shirt and thick rimmed black glasses, was it? He could do a sold-out show in the club even in a blackout. Jeez, his voice was loud ;)
I was by some VERY loud people in the back during Clearlake.
Almost perfect show by Decemberists, did not even play my favorite song, but I enjoyed every moment of it, especially The Tain. Did not think they would be better than the backstage show, but it was, wish sound could be that good all the time.
Will probably stay as my choice for best show of the year until April 24th.
I enjoy Clearlake's music, but they were pretty lifeless on stage and people were talking a lot.
Will probably stay as my choice for best show of the year until April 24th.
I enjoy Clearlake's music, but they were pretty lifeless on stage and people were talking a lot.
Originally posted by pollard:That one guitar player in the red shirt on the audience's left side was like a Disney robotron, moving his mouth along to the words, but not ONE OTHER MUSCLE moved. I found it hilarious.
I enjoy Clearlake's music, but they were pretty lifeless on stage and people were talking a lot.
March 30, 2004
MUSIC REVIEW | THE DECEMBERISTS
A Band Reveling in 'Pantaloons' and Other Lyrical Mischief
By KELEFA SANNEH
The New York Times
Halfway through the Decemberists' sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, Colin Meloy said, "I'm going to tell you a little story about my upbringing." And then he sang "The Chimbley Sweep," a ridiculous fable about an unloved boy: "I am a chimbley, a chimbley sweep/No bed to lie, no shoes to hold my feet."
Mr. Meloy is an anti-confessionalist: his devotion to artifice is a mischievous response to other singer-songwriters' promises of truth. But these songs never curdle into mere parody. Mr. Meloy has lovingly created his own alternate universe, and he draws his hapless characters with enormous wit and tenderness, even the chimbley sweeps.
He takes boundless pleasure in language, seeming to to rejoice every time he uses a word like "pantaloons" or "pinioned." He also has a thin, hale voice and four resourceful band mates. For "Leslie Anne Levine," about a baby's ghost ("My mother birthed me far too soon/Born at 9 and dead at noon"), the keyboardist switched to accordion, the guitarist switched to pedal steel, and the bassist picked up a bow.
As if to offset the willful obscurity of his lyrics, Mr. Meloy often seizes on bright, sometimes maddeningly catchy tunes. "Billy Liar," from the band's excellent 2003 album, "Her Majesty the Decemberists" (Kill Rock Stars), sets antiquated verse atop a rousing, swinging tune. It must be the most infectious maritime ballad in recent memory.
The Decemberists, based in Portland, Ore., recently released "The Tain" (Acuarela), an 18-minute operetta loosely based â?? or so they say â?? on Celtic mythology. On Friday Mr. Meloy bravely led his troops through a complete version. It is an appealing (if sometimes exhausting) homemade epic, full of intriguing narrative fragments and nimble musical U-turns.
Just when he seemed about to disappear into his own fantasy, Mr. Meloy would casually bring the songs back to earth, suggesting that he wasn't entirely opposed to confessionalism after all. He explained that "July, July!" was about a warehouse he used to live in, and listeners could follow the narrative thread from the mundane to the implausible. The part about the "road that meets the road that goes to my house" sounded autobiographical enough, but what of the "crooked French Canadian" who was "gut-shot runnin' gin"?
At other times Mr. Meloy seemed to be practicing a form of lyrical displacement, coyly hiding familiar feelings behind the unfamiliar scenery. "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground" is full of clever phrases and exotic slang, but the chorus made a simpler sort of sense. "Through the tarlatan holes, you've been slipping, been slipping away," He sang with a sigh, and you didn't have to be an expert in the history of textiles to figure out why he sounded so sad.
MUSIC REVIEW | THE DECEMBERISTS
A Band Reveling in 'Pantaloons' and Other Lyrical Mischief
By KELEFA SANNEH
The New York Times
Halfway through the Decemberists' sold-out show at the Bowery Ballroom on Friday night, Colin Meloy said, "I'm going to tell you a little story about my upbringing." And then he sang "The Chimbley Sweep," a ridiculous fable about an unloved boy: "I am a chimbley, a chimbley sweep/No bed to lie, no shoes to hold my feet."
Mr. Meloy is an anti-confessionalist: his devotion to artifice is a mischievous response to other singer-songwriters' promises of truth. But these songs never curdle into mere parody. Mr. Meloy has lovingly created his own alternate universe, and he draws his hapless characters with enormous wit and tenderness, even the chimbley sweeps.
He takes boundless pleasure in language, seeming to to rejoice every time he uses a word like "pantaloons" or "pinioned." He also has a thin, hale voice and four resourceful band mates. For "Leslie Anne Levine," about a baby's ghost ("My mother birthed me far too soon/Born at 9 and dead at noon"), the keyboardist switched to accordion, the guitarist switched to pedal steel, and the bassist picked up a bow.
As if to offset the willful obscurity of his lyrics, Mr. Meloy often seizes on bright, sometimes maddeningly catchy tunes. "Billy Liar," from the band's excellent 2003 album, "Her Majesty the Decemberists" (Kill Rock Stars), sets antiquated verse atop a rousing, swinging tune. It must be the most infectious maritime ballad in recent memory.
The Decemberists, based in Portland, Ore., recently released "The Tain" (Acuarela), an 18-minute operetta loosely based â?? or so they say â?? on Celtic mythology. On Friday Mr. Meloy bravely led his troops through a complete version. It is an appealing (if sometimes exhausting) homemade epic, full of intriguing narrative fragments and nimble musical U-turns.
Just when he seemed about to disappear into his own fantasy, Mr. Meloy would casually bring the songs back to earth, suggesting that he wasn't entirely opposed to confessionalism after all. He explained that "July, July!" was about a warehouse he used to live in, and listeners could follow the narrative thread from the mundane to the implausible. The part about the "road that meets the road that goes to my house" sounded autobiographical enough, but what of the "crooked French Canadian" who was "gut-shot runnin' gin"?
At other times Mr. Meloy seemed to be practicing a form of lyrical displacement, coyly hiding familiar feelings behind the unfamiliar scenery. "The Gymnast, High Above the Ground" is full of clever phrases and exotic slang, but the chorus made a simpler sort of sense. "Through the tarlatan holes, you've been slipping, been slipping away," He sang with a sigh, and you didn't have to be an expert in the history of textiles to figure out why he sounded so sad.
Originally posted by Bags:That's because Chimbley Sweeps RAWK!
Mr. Meloy has lovingly created his own alternate universe, and he draws his hapless characters with enormous wit and tenderness, even the chimbley sweeps.
:cool: