The Decemberists are a thinking man’s rock band. A Geek Squad on tour bus wheels, if you will. And to see them and appreciate them in concert, it helps to bring along your intellect and your imagination.
Especially on their current spring swing, which includes a June 10 show at Radio City Music Hall in New York and was barely a week old when it stopped at the Fillmore Auditorium on May 26.
Following Blind Pilot’s breezy easy-listening set, the Decemberists, fronted by Colin Meloy (left), began a two-hour concert in Denver with a challenging but ultimately satisfying performance of their latest release, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety.
Their fifth full-length album, released in March (Capitol Records), is an adventurous piece of risky business that, for the uninitiated listener, might require a keen interest in folklore and a CliffsNotes edition of Decemberists for Dummies. The same could be said of this show.
The Hazards of Love is a magical and mystical piece of musical theater, a folk rock opera for the ages. What does it all mean? Who knows? But you didn’t need to understand Tommy to enjoy and admire The Who’s powerful live performance in its entirety either, before or after it became a Ken Russell movie and a hit Broadway play.
The Decemberists’ fable in a nutshell (go to the band’s website to download the lyrics and liner notes) involves: a sweet young thing (Margaret) who could pass for a princess but is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover (William); a mean forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake.
It all might sound a bit pretentious – including the description of the album (a 17-song suite) – and could have taken a few Spinal Tap turns. (Where’s the miniature Stonehenge?) But a businesslike Meloy (looking like an orchestra leader, nattily attired in coat, tie and suspenders), his talented and versatile band and guest vocalists Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond) and Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) played it straight and pulled it off.
And the crowd went along for the ride, as if on cue. 
They were enchanted by Stark’s pretty and childlike vocals as “Margaret” (with a sparkling tiara in her hair) on “Won't Want for Love (Margaret In the Taiga)” and her swirling, twirling spins throughout her “Isn't It a Lovely Night?” duet with Meloy (above); whooped it up and cheered wildly during trips to heavy-metal heaven on “A Bower Scene” and “The Queen's Rebuke / The Crossing”; kept quiet while Jenny Conlee’s go-for-baroque harpsichord launched “The Wanting Comes in Waves”; then erupted with uproarious delight as the song transformed into “Repaid,” a belter that the pint-sized Worden, wearing villainous black, attacked with a vengeance in her dastardly role as this century’s version of “The Acid Queen.”
Article comments
1 - Mat Brewster
Sounds like a heck of a night. I was curious as to how they were going to pull the new one off in a live setting.
2 - Michael
Yeah, Mat, so was I. But it worked beautifully. Just wondering how long they'll be able to maintain the same energy and enthusiasm. Hope they decide to flip the sets, too.