The Decemberists at the LC Pavilion

This show was difficult for me to go to. In fact, before I was contacted by Filter, I wasn't going to go at all. Not because I don't like The Decemberists, quite the contrary, it was because the last time I saw them it was at the tiny venue, Little Brothers, and it was so amazingly good, I didn't want to sully that memory in my mind. The band had just released Picaresque, and the size of the stage and venue on the whole did not allow the band to perform with their now trademark theatrics. The crowd was maybe 300 people, and all of them were fans. Before I continue, I must warn you, it's time for us here at ThaBombShelter to put on our Music Snob Hat. That said, the crowd at the Little Brothers show were mostly a little older, they cared about the music, respected the band, and they were there to genuinely enjoy the show. Tonights crowd, however, seemed to have come to hear the following: "O! Valencia," "July! July!", and "16 Military Wives" and that's about it. The Decemberists knew their audience and played the three songs, along with loads of other stuff (including two surprises from Crane Wife, "The Island..." and "The Crane Wife Parts 1 & 2"). They played to the high schoolers and the die hards, unfortunately for them, the very nature of the venue and the crowd pulled down what could have been a spectacular show.

The problems began when poor Alasdair Roberts took the stage. Thanks to Songs:Illinois, I heard a clip of Mr. Roberts earlier this week and I was both excited and a bit scared for the upcoming opening spot. I was familiar with the LC and I knew his intimate, acoustic strumming would absolutely not translate to the rather large indoor concert hall. Little did I realize quite how badly it ws going to go, what with the constant drone of drunks - both in the back and quite near the front - the thrown Tootsie Rolls, and the crowd absolutely refusing to just shut the fuck up. It wasn't until he played a speed demon rendition of the Irish trad song, "Red Haired Boy" that the crowd finally decided to take notice. It didn't last long though, as two songs later, a lone Alasdair on stage singing acapella was still not enough to keep the crowd's attention. It was a shame, really, because despite the overwhelmingly disrepectful mob, Roberts played some amazing songs, and in a better setting would have recieved the hushed appreciation and quiet enjoyment that his traditional leaning, acoustic folk music deserves.

Before The Decemberists took the stage, the GF was forced - both by the attitude of the young children around us, and the general crush of people on all sides - to retreat to the safety of the raised wings of the hall. She turned to me, just before she left, and summed up the experience quite simply, "The crowd is ruining the experience for me." I couln't agree more, but in the end, I knew the band would put on a great show, so I stuck it out and was rewarded, however, I did have to deal with one of the worst groups of people I have ever had the pleasure to be squashed up against for four hours.

Their set started with "The Crane Wife 3" and they were off and running from there. The crowd was finally silenced, it was like throwing meat to pack of hungry beasts, they were quiet for the moment, but by the time the band got around to playing the rest of the tale, "The Crane Wife 1 & 2", the din had started once again. With the second song, the aforementioned, "July! July!" I realized that the plight of the touring band is a double edged blade, at least from the standpoint of the Music Snob. It's almost a given that a concert in a smaller venue will be better (notable exception, Tenacious D). But, being the Music Snob, you want your band to become successful, unfortunately, becoming successful usually leads to playing larger venues. Larger venues equal more money for the band (not the label) and more money means more music. But, when your favorite bands move from playing the small rock clubs like Little Brothers, to playing arenas and large indoor venues, a lot is lost. Colin did his level best to eliminate the distance between the band and the crowd, including eliminating the "moat" between the audience and the stage, jumping around like a crazy man, and more audience participation than I've seen since De La Soul, but no matter how hard he could have tried, it's impossible to turn a shitty crowd into a good one.

The songs were great though. When they launched into a fast version of "The Perfect Crime 2" the crowd went nuts. When Colin started the dance contest, it got even crazier. The circles formed on the left and in the center, and when he pointed to those of us in the right section, we were told to mosh, and surprisingly, everyone did, much to the dismay of many concertgoers in my vicinity. Thanks to my concert experiences in the salad days of my youth, I was able to hold up in the impromptu pit, but there were many many pissed off people around me. By the end of the huge surf guitar solo, there had even been bloodshed (I even have the graphic photographic evidence!). During their performance of the cutting room floor track, "Culling of the Fold", it was quite evident just how much fun this band has when they're playing great rock music for the sweaty mass of bodies in front of them. The closing song of the set, "Sons & Daughters" was almost too obvious for my taste. The last track of the last album to close the show? Come on guys, do something original. Then, then, he had to go and bring politics into the whole mess. I'll admit, I lean to the left of center, so his comment about the great job we all did in the recent election didn't exactly offend me, but what it did do was unnecessarily color the last bit of the concert a good deal more blue than I would have cared for. Why couldn't he have kept the refrain of the song, "Hear all the bombs fade away," in it's non-partisan form? Why bring in the politics?

Luckily for me (and I imagine some other people in the audience, whether they admit it or not), the band came out for a two song encore. The first was "Red Right Ankle," of course, and all I could think during the whole song was how much I wish I had a skip button. Thank goodness they launched immediately into "A Cautionary Song". It was just about the jolliest rendition of a gang rape I've ever heard, that's for sure. The special bit came about halfway through the song, when Colin and Co. decided to perform some kind of reenactment in the middle of the audience. This was great in theory: the drummer, multi-instrumentalist and guitarist were all in the crowd with various bits of percussion, interacting with the people, and attempted to perform some kind of battle from 1916 with the Turks and the Australian Doughboys. Unfortunately, it was absolutely impossible to see the goingson. Even for myself, who was only about five rows of people back, could not see the show, even on my tip-toes and camera stretched to the length of my arms. No luck.

I'm sure it was amazing though. Much like everything else the band seemed to do this warm November night. If only the disrespectful and immature crowd (most notably the three girls - the redhead, blond and brunette - in front of me, who flat out refused to stand closer to make more room for everyone else) had been more receptive and...well, respectful, it would have gone down in the annals of ThaBombShelter's best concerts ever, joining the likes of The Flaming Lips from the front row, They Might Be Giants with a power outtage and Doves at the Newport. But no, thanks to the crowd, it ended up being just okay. For shame, Columbus, next time show a little more respect to the hardworking musicians and fellow fans when you're out a show.

Follow Colin and Co. to Minneapolis (thanks, PerfectPorridge) and Beyond!
Check out the Pontiac, MI show at the Filter Tour Zine
Alasdair Roberts Official Site
The Decemberists Official Site

You know the drill, pics to follow tomorrow. Sadly, no videos this time, but there will be extra pictures to make up for it.

And here's a clip of how Alasdair Roberts should have sounded live, (thanks, Songs:Illinois)