{"id":1286,"date":"2009-10-02T20:00:58","date_gmt":"2009-10-02T20:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/216.71.127.204\/wordpress\/?p=1286"},"modified":"2015-10-15T16:37:18","modified_gmt":"2015-10-15T16:37:18","slug":"decemberists-house-of-blues-houston-tx","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmusicreview.com\/wordpress\/2009\/10\/02\/decemberists-house-of-blues-houston-tx\/","title":{"rendered":"Decemberists – House of Blues – Houston, TX"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n
Written by James Dillon <\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Oct 02, 2009 at 08:00 PM<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\"Image\"Four years, six months, and one day. That\u2019s how long it took the Decemberists to come back to Houston. In fact, I am still quite surprised that I actually got to see them Friday night at the House of Blues. You see, from what I remember the Decemberists have felt less than keen on our city since 2006. This was spawned by that whole Two Gallants and Longhorn Slim incident at Walter\u2019s on Washington. The band had to run from the cop (from the stage) and a few people got tazed by the officer on the scene. But that was years ago, and the Decemberists finally returned to Houston.<\/p>\n

I am still taken back by how popular the Decemberists are these days. Not that they don\u2019t deserve it, it just reflects the change of trends in music that occurred this decade. I never would have guessed that a hyper-literate group of theatre and drama nerds would have become as popular as they are, but it certainly makes me happy. Even the opening act, Laura Veirs and the Hall of Flames were rather nerdy. I mean, the band name even sounds like a Harry Potter book title that never got written (I mean no disrespect by this, I have been a closet Harry Potter nerd since before this decade started).<\/p>\n

The Decemberists show at the House of Blues more than made up for the group\u2019s absence from our fair city. From the beginning of Laura Veirs\u2019s set until the Decemberists struck their last chord, the evening had absolutely no low points, and never did I lose interest in what was happening on the stage.<\/p>\n

Laura Veirs, from Portland, Or, played a wonderful set with her band, the Hall of Flames. Decemberists fans will know Veirs from contributing vocals to the Decemberists track \u201cYankee Bayonet\u201d, but her own works is fantastic as well. The group played quiet folk songs, complete with unusual instrumentation and immaculate group harmonies. The group didn\u2019t have a traditional drummer, instead using random percussion, which gave the songs a very unique feel.<\/p>\n

After Veirs and company finished their delightful set, it was time for the moment I had been waiting years for. The Decemberists were finally set to take the stage and perform their top-notch folk\/ prog\/stoner metal\/pop songs for the fans that had begun to feel forsaken by the band.<\/p>\n

The group was in town to perform their latest album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety. For those who don\u2019t enjoy the Hazards of Love as much as their previous albums, I suggest you go to a Decemberists show and see them perform it live. The album was originally written as a play, but principal songwriter Colin Meloy had a change of heart and instead opted to make it a concept album.\u00a0 While I do enjoy the Hazards of Love, it\u2019s an album that I have to listen to all the way through. It does not translate to putting on shuffle well at all (as most people seem to do these days).<\/p>\n

After seeing the group perform this album live, I will from here on defend it. Seeing the album live was almost like watching a play or movie. But as with any play or movie, certain scenes aren\u2019t as entertaining as others, but are still necessary to further the plot. Also, like any play or movie, there are scenes that are far more epic than others. The songs, though they might as well be called scenes, that really had me singing a long the most were \u201cThe Rake Song\u201d and \u201cHazards of Love IV\u201d (the album\u2019s closing track). When the group played the album\u2019s closer, it was the perfect ending to a great stage show, complete with beautiful steel guitar compliments of Chris Funk.<\/p>\n

Other great moments throughout the playing of the album came from additional singer Becky Stark and Shara Worden. These two fantastic singers played the roles of the Margaret and the Forest Queen. Stark\u2019s beautiful vocals on tracks such as \u201cIsn\u2019t it a Lovely Night\u201d and Worden\u2019s powerful vocals on tracks such as \u201cThe Wanting Comes in Waves\/Repaid\u201d really added extra intensity to an already epic stage performance. Though the highlight of the set was definitely the song \u201cThe Rake Song\u201d. The track feature five people playing drums. The percussion heavy track was translated wonderfully from the studio to the stage. The track also features Meloy singing at the top of his lungs about how his character killed all of his children, and who doesn\u2019t love that?<\/p>\n

Whether or not you enjoy listening to The Hazards of Love on your iPod, the stage performance should convince you otherwise. Even if after seeing the album played live you were less than entertained, the bands second set of the evening would more than justify the steep ticket prices.<\/p>\n

After the group finished playing their first set, the group returned to play older material for fans who have been praying to see them live, or like myself, see them live again. The group started their second set of the evening off with the absolutely wonderful song \u201cThe Sporting Life\u201d of what is arguably their best album Picaresque. Other songs featured in the groups second set were \u201cBilly Liar\u201d, \u201cLos Angeles, I\u2019m Yours\u201d off of Her Majesty. From the Crane Wife, \u201cO Valencia!\u201d and \u201cSankhill Butchers\u201d were played. Though the point in the show were I literally found myself jumping for joy cam when the group play a few really old songs. \u201cShiny\u201d and \u201cEverything I Try To Do Nothing Seems To Turn Out Right\u201d absolutely made my night. I had long resigned myself to the realization that if I ever got to see the Decemberists again I would never be able to hear them play these songs. Both of these songs feature Chris Funk playing wonderful pedal steel, which I am always a fan of. In addition the a handful of the group\u2019s best work , the Decemberists also played the worst songs Colin Meloy has ever written, \u201cDracula\u2019s Daughter\u201d. The song really is pretty bad, but it was still fun to hear live.<\/p>\n

For the encore Colin Meloy treated the audience to a new song that featured him playing guitar, singing, and playing harmonica.\u00a0If the new song is any indication of what we can expect from the Decemberists in the future, they will still be a wonderful and relevant band for some time to come. The encore also included my favorite song off the Cran Wife, \u201cSons and Daughters\u201d. Once Meloy set down his bouzouki and picked up his electric guitar the group went into an excellent rendition of Heart\u2019s \u201cCrazy on You\u201d. The two female singers sang a duet on the song and quite possibly sang it better than the original version. Quite a way to end an evening of musical greatness.<\/p>\n

I have no idea how long it will take for the Decemberists to make it back to Houston, but Meloy and Co. made up for the lost time. Meloy even apologized to those in the audience who were at Fat Cat\u2019s the last time the Decemberists were in town.\u00a0 As far as I could tell from the crowd, not many had been at that show (on a side note, I really don\u2019t think it was that bad. I actually rather enjoyed it). In any case, the Decemberists certainly gave Houston a proper show to make up for their absence.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Written by James Dillon Oct 02, 2009 at 08:00 PM Four years, six months, and one day. That\u2019s how long it took the Decemberists to come back to Houston. In fact, I am still quite surprised that I actually got to see them Friday night at the House of Blues. You see, from what I… <\/p>\n

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