Austinist Show Review: The Decemberists at Stubb's

Just hours before The Decemberists were to take the outdoor stage at Stubb's, ominous clouds gathered over Austin, releasing a piddling sprinkle of rain that seemed, at the time, to bode unwell for the evening's show. But as the minutes crept ahead, the clouds followed suit, leaving us with a perfectly breezy fall evening -- a far cry from the sub-saharan muck we were mired in when we last saw the Portland, Oregon bunch, at last year's Austin City Limits 2005.

And what a year it's been for the lit-chic Colin Meloy and his merry band of violin-toting, upright bass-lugging misfits: late last winter, much hullabaloo was made when the indie band went big time, signing to Capitol Records. We thought it was a prudent move; boasting the likes of Shout Out Louds, Ok Go, and Austin's own Sound Team (among others), Capitol's developed a reputation for propelling the careers of former indie/cult wunderkinds, while still affording them a considerable degree of artistic freedom. Decemberists frontman Meloy put it fairly bluntly himself shortly after the announcement was made, remarking that "the contract that we have with Capitol is peppered with the words 'band approval.' It's really as good a contract as we could hope for. If they do have a nefarious agenda, it's completely hidden [to] me."

All photos by Eric Uhlir on flickr

Detached from the endless indie-versus-corporate discussion, their latest album, The Crane Wife, is a dazzling gem. While falling short of such ambitious epics like "The Bagman's Gambit" from their last record, Picaresque, the new, prog-friendly 'concept' LP contains more than its fair share of elegant, imagery-rich songs. Before heading into their show on Tuesday night, we'd been playing the record in its entirety at least once a day, for the past few weeks. We could easily karaoke half the songs, blindfolded.

It turned out that our obsessive-compulsive tendencies paid off in spades, as the hour-plus main set was nearly monopolized by tracks from The Crane Wife. Opening with the ebullient and optimistic "Crane Wife 3," Meloy and Co. plowed through the album's first few songs, including the twelve-minute-long shanty tune "The Island, Come and See..." and a rollicking rendition of "The Perfect Crime #2." A few songs into the show, Colin paused to comment on the agreeable weather, joking that otherwise, "when it rains, the show's free." Stubb's went wild.

Ever the gracious entertainers, the band carried the lighthearted atmosphere throughout the show. Halfway in, one of the band members -- we couldn't make out who, relegated as we were to the far back with the other smokers, evidently a new Stubb's policy -- asked Colin if they should tell "their joke," to which Colin agreed. It went something like this:

Q: "Have you ever had coffee with chicory?"

A: "No, but I've had yerba mate with Keith Jarrett!"

Silence.

Most of the crowd looked around, befuddled. It went above our heads, too, though that's hardly newsworthy. Sensing this, the band rushed into an energetic delivery of the new album's most radio-friendly single, "O Valencia," to universal applause. Echoing the track order of The Crane Wife, they rounded out the set with the lullaby-for-juvenile-deliquents, "Shankill Butchers," "Crane Wife 1 & 2," and a soaring version of "Sons and Daughters."

Despite the noticeable absence of such guaranteed crowd-pleasers as "July, July!" and "The Mariner's Revenge," or the hilarious shenanigans that Colin subjected the crowd to back at ACL, the Decemberists put on an energetic, eminently enjoyable performance. We left in the middle of the encore, determined to avoid the ensuing traffic jam, as they launched into the politically-charged "Sixteen Military Wives." Meloy was attempting to pull a Moses, parting the audience for some dueling chorus lines.

Evidently it was a hit; even a block and a half away, we could hear the cheers.

Decemberists live coverage continues at blogsarefordogs.com

Contact the author of this article or email tips@austinist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Allen Y Chen in Arts & Entertainment on October 25, 2006 2:24 PM 0 Comments

Comments [rss]

Lesbian Police

The lesbians were there for the inside show.

Lesbian Police

The multitudes of lesbians were there for the inside show.

APV

I think that there were at least 17 thousand people still waiting in line for will call when the first song started.

JT

Why do people insist that a band loses/will lose its credibility when they sign with a major label? Why would it bad for the fans? Colin thinks that signing with Capitol Records was a good thing for the band and they're happy with the amount of creativity that they have. Quit mourning for something that isn't lost.

Declan McManus

1.5 million units to break even? Who are you? George W Bush with that craptastic fuzzy math?

If it took 1.5 million units to break even, major labels would be so far in the red it would be absurd.

There are only a couple dozen albums that sniff that number every year at this point, yet major labels continue to exist and be profitable. Most albums don't even go gold (500k) and the label still makes money on them.

78722

The last time I saw that many lesbians in line, Patrice Pike was passed out in my bathroom.

lauri

how could you leave in the middle of the encore? it was glorious.

pd

"Why did the band sign with a major label?"

Tony, I agree that the worst thing that could happen to a band's fans is the band getting famous. I would love to have the Decemberists still be my best kept secret! But, good for Meloy and Co. for getting the attention they deserve. Plus, for them to be so bold as to have their major label debut be a concept album based on an obscure Japanese folk tale screams indie cred.

John

Indie cred, schmindie cred. The Crane Wife is a terrific album that will be on many critic's top ten lists, they put on wonderful live shows and seem to genuinely enjoy what they do. And where did you get the statistic that 1.5 million units is the break even point for a major label? Doesn't it depend entirely upon how much the album cost initially in production and promotion? Lord knows if the GnR album ever sees the light of day, it'll take waaaayyy more than 1.5 million to be in the black.

Tony Velasco

The Decemberists sold 17,859 copies of "Crane Wife" last week (44,192 cumulative). Looks like this ain't gonna be a big seller. Given that a major label must sell about 1.5 million units to break even, it begs the question: Why did the band sign with a major label? The Decemberists have sacrificed their indie cred and potentially their long-term future as a band.

eric "E Money" Uhlir

Flattery, my dear, will get you EVERYwhere.

pd

Maybe it was just where I was standing, but the Decemberist fans at this show seemed pretty stiff...esp. compared to their ACL Fest performance last year.

Bre

Note to Colin Meloy: call me. For serious.

Paige

We're all smarter now.

Also, in addition to Allen's typically brilliant writing, Eric's photos are truly fantastic. Jaw-droppingly great.

Wonderful all around, guys.

allen

ahh, hilarious :)

Eric Uhlir

Chicory = Chick Corea = Jazz great. It's a pun ;)

odam

That is a jazz/piano joke. Keith Jarrett is a legendary jazz pianist, as in CHICK COREA. get it? chicory/chick corea? ah, high-browed good times all around.

great review, btw.

Lily Hashbrowns

Great review of the night Allen. Wish I could have seen you last night, didn't know you'd be there. Anyway, it was a spectacular show even though I'm not a huge fan of Stubb's large shows. The night was perfect and so was their music. Loved it!