Good Morning from Manhattan.....just thought I'd drop in and mention that I saw the Decemberists Wednesday night at Radio City Music Hall in NYC. I had never seen the Decemberists before, but had wanted to ever since I heard the band for the first time. Well, they didn't disappoint. They plowed through the entire new album, "The Hazards of Love", took a short break and then played some of their back catalog for another hour.
The sound at Radio City was phenomenal, and Colin Meloy's voice was as quirky as ever. He also interjected a lot between songs, making little jokes or asides that were usually pretty damn funny. The place was packed too, so it was probably a pretty special feeling for the band to sell out (or almost sell out) Radio City Music Hall.
During the second set, Meloy invited some people from up front onstage to attempt to play guitar and bass. It was the same sort of thing that I've seen at Green Day shows, when they invite some kids onstage to play during their Operation Ivy cover. The Decemberists do it a bit differently, though, as Meloy took the opportunity to basically crowdsurf around the entire floor area....I don't think he touched the ground as he walked over chairs and seats in a loop, returning to the stage.
After that was finished, he then started playing the intro to Heart's "Crazy on You". The band picked it up and they played the entire song, with the two female background singers/dancers in the band taking over lead vocal duties. It was spot-on, and was extremely unexpected.
While the Decemberists didn't play the Mariner's Revenge Song or my favorite, Summersong, it was still an amazing show, and I'm very glad I finally got to see them. Pitchfork doesn't know what it's talking about (big shock there), the Decemberists and Colin Meloy are awesome.
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