Oregon’s Indie darlings The Decemberists played the Pageant Theatre in Saint Louis, MO with guests My Brightest Diamond on Saturday April 14, 2007 as they continued their Dangerous Forest tour.
My Brightest Diamond kicked off the night with a full on rock set complete with an onstage wipeout by lead (and trained opera singer) Shara Worden. Decked out in matching white leisure suits, MBD channeled their inner Jeff Buckleys and destroyed a short but raucous set which left many in the house noticeably impressed. Worden matches the vocal theatrics of Kate Bush the soulful seductiveness of Nina Simone, and the gothic pop of Portishead, for an altogether unique sound. While her vocal lines may mimic Puccini, her guitar style parallels PJ Harvey.
The Decemberists delved into their back catalogue and worked their way forward throughout the evening playing tunes from both Picaresque as well as The Crane Wife. From Colin Meloy's quavery voice and hyper-literate lyrics to the band's musical and stylistic eclectisim, which includes among others baroque, celtic, pop, prog rock, and dozens of other instrumental variations and styles, there was something for everyone in the house.
The Oregonian octet presented an impressively eclectic effort that was seamless and cohesive. Meloy and company engaged in some traditional and albeit somewhat expected theatrics including a sing along during an expansive rendition of “Sixteen Military Wives” (which included some pointed political punditry), a blistering version of “O Valencia!”, and a delicate, haunting rendition of “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)” with Shara Worden from My Brightest Diamond. The show’s highlight however was the sprawling encore “The Mariner’s Revenge Song” with solos aplenty, audience participation (wails and moans on cue), and a low-to-no budget “stage whale” which ate the band. The evening’s only disappointment of was the lack of period dress which the stage whale more than made up for. Be sure to check out photos from the concert in our photo gallery.
4.24.2007
Decemberists play The Pageant Theatre
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2 comments:
Sounds like a great show. Did you see the Decemberists on the Colbert report? Steven Colbert had a guitar solo challenge against the band and he won by getting Peter Frampton to play for him.
It was an excellent show. I highly recommend checking them out if they swing through your neck of the woods.
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