It’s pretty ironic when a band that used to record for the Kill Rock Stars label improbably finds itself at the top of the Billboard charts, but that’s the current state for The Decemberists. Colin Meloy and company have carefully crafted their sound and gradually built their audience to the point where they have popped above the waters of the underground and landed onshore, blinking, in the spotlight of the greater record-buying population.
They haven’t shifted their sound much at all during this ascent, though the new record finds them back to a more folky sound as compared to the prog flourishes of The Hazards Of Love, and tonight they would play a fair bit of the new record at the first of two sold-out nights at Boston’s House of Blues.
The audience was a wide-ranging mix and included indie rock hipsters, middle-aged NPR listeners, and sometimes their young children. As expected, the new record got a lot of airing, and why not? People obviously love it! Seven of the ten songs were played, including the very REM ish “Down By The Water” (must be the 12 string guitar of Chris Funk that was very evocative of early Peter Buck tones and the subtle lift of the melody chorus line of “The One I Love”) and the spirited “Rox In The Box,” with Jenny Conlee on accordion and ex-*Nickel Creek* Sara Watkins on violin and perfect vocal harmonies. What wasn’t expected was the short set; including the two encores, it just clocked in at about 75 minutes, far different from the two set sprawl of their last Boston appearance. Meloy’s bout with a stomach flue was the culprit, but fair play to him for not having his performance or mood seemingly affected.
Baltimore’s Wye Oak opened the show, and showed that a drum/guitar duo doesn’t have to stand in the same shadow of White Stripes or Black Keys. They ditch the blues and straight into Crazy Horse territory, with Jenn Wasner tearing holes in the air with her muscular guitar playing. Andy Stack had more than just drum duties, as he periodically/simultaneously played the bass line with one of his hands via a keyboard. “For Prayer” was a revelation; had I heard it when it came out a couple years I would have been exhorting its greatness to everyone I came across. This band has slipped under my radar until now; don’t make the same mistake. Look for Civilian when it hits the shelves (or the servers, if you dig mp3s) later this year.
