Dinosaur in Trouble: proudly serving Twin Cities music geeks

Sunday, November 06, 2005

The Decemberists!!!


The Decemberists

Oh…my…fucking…word! Why didn’t anybody ever tell me!? Why didn’t anybody ever tell me!? I was in no way prepared for what I experienced at First Avenue on Friday, October 21. Actually, I don’t think anything could have prepared me. I would have never guessed that The Decemberists are the de facto greatest live band in the world.

Cass McCombs opened. His set was pleasant, but unspectacular. I was actually expecting The Decemberists to follow suit. Oh, but they didn’t; they were hiding the ace of spades up their sleeve.


Cass McCombs

As you might have already inferred, I had never seen The Decemberists before. I avoided them the last time they came to town because they were playing a Clear Channel show. But this time, since they were playing at a venue that actually gives a shit about our music scene, I decided to check them out. I had no premonitions about the show; there was no media fanfare, no little voice in my head telling me that I should be excited. And that is why I was caught completely off guard.

I can’t even begin to adequately describe the show. By their second song, I realized that this was the closest I’d ever come to experiencing a Neutral Milk Hotel show. By their third song, I completely forgot about Neutral Milk Hotel, and I was lost in The Decemberists’ maritime fantasy world. The clever stage antics (Colin Meloy was even swallowed by a whale during the epic “The Mariner’s Revenge Song”) and the eerie lighting perfectly complimented the perfect music. I lost my cool and jumped and swayed as I sang along to the music and whispered “holy shit!” under my breath.

This was my third show in three nights. Under normal circumstances, I’d be tired. But under these extreme circumstances, I did not want the show to ever end. Truly amazing! I don’t expect any show for the rest of the year to top this historic event.


The Decemberists


For the birds

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