From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V14 #136 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, May 31 2005 Volume 14 : Number 136 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Decemberists review: Burlington Vermont [Jill Brand ] The Decemberists: review of the Boston show [Jill Brand ] Oh, my love, my love! [Christopher Hintz ] jilldecemberistmaniax [Jeff ] reap [Jason Brown ] What, No Decembrists? [Tom Clark ] Re: What, No Decembrists? [Jason Brown ] Re: What, No Decembrists? [Jeff ] Re: What, No Decembrists? [Eb ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 19:33:06 -0400 (EDT) From: Jill Brand Subject: Decemberists review: Burlington Vermont The following is my review from the Burlington Decemberists show ****************************************************************** I'm back in Boston, having driven in god-awful weather this morning after the Burlington show last night. Since the University of Vermont is out of session, the audience seemed to consist of mostly high school kids, I would say (well, most everyone looked around my son's age, so I felt right at home). The venue is brand new and has great acoustics, but was a little large for a Decemberists gig on a Tuesday night in an out-of-session university town in the middle of nowhere (oh, but what a beautiful middle of nowhere it is!). The way I look at it, there were two shows. The first half of the show was all precision and intensity. July, July was back in the line-up, much to my delight. They sounded amazing through the first half and then, well, they got completely goofy. They still sounded great, but totally silly at times. I have a lot of their live shows, but I've never heard them this, well, punchdrunk. Mr. Funk gave a falsetto rendition of an exquisitely awful song (I Don't Want to Lose Your Love Tonight? - I'm assuming it was a real song because everyone seemed to know it) with full band back-up. John came in during the middle of Chimbley Sweep to do a bluesy refrain about being a poor little urchin boy. And all through Chimbley Sweep, a, um, "woman" (there are other words that I might use), who (I hope for her sake) was completely intoxicated, kept yelling "I love you, Colin. Marry me, Colin. I love your voice, Colin." I know this because she was about two feet from me. It was great to see all these kids staring at her, silently saying to themselves, "God, I hope I'm never like that." She was clearly unnerving Petra (Jenny seemed better at ignoring her), so when the "instrumental improv" ended, instead of singing, "Oh lonely urchin," she sang, "I love you, Colin", and Colin, first non-plussed and then laughing, came back with "The urchin...widow cried." We also got a song about a wet rock, which then metamorphosed into something about the "lock to your heart." It appealed to me in a kind of "only the stones remain" sort of way. It was all very funny and lovely in a "we don't take ourselves too seriously" manner. While the quieter songs were omitted (no Morrissey tunes or Eli, the Barrow Boy or Red Right Ankle), I was OVER THE FUCKING MOON about hearing On the Bus Mall, which I thought had been tucked away after the first half of the tour. Anyway, hope I didn't bore you all. I think its great that this really young crowd showed up (although the bar would like to have made more money, I'm sure) because this means that there is a band for a whole new generation of writers and poets and artists and misfits, and this band deserves more attention than anyone else out there right now, in my humble opinion. ************************************************************************** That was Tuesday night. Wednesday follows. Jill ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 19:37:09 -0400 (EDT) From: Jill Brand Subject: The Decemberists: review of the Boston show And this is what I wrote the next day: *********************************************************************** Colin said he brings bad weather to Boston. His solo show in January had to be postponed because of the biggest blizzard we've had since the famed blizzard of '78. Last night on my way home, I had to dodge huge fallen trees that were strewn helter-skelter across the roads. Such is the power of the Decemberists. I'm happy to say that (according to lovely merch guy Ian) last night's show was the biggest of the tour. Avalon was sold out, and a sell-out means 1850 people. The contrast between the "get down with your silly self" atmosphere of Burlington the night before and the majestic nature of this performance was impressive. A Boston audience can be somewhat stuck-up and reserved, but the applause at the end was so loud that Petra had to cover her ears. Highlights? I don't know if there can be any when there are no lowlights. Although it was a song that used to do little for me, Los Angeles, I'm Yours was particularly blistering. The Engine Driver/On the Bus Mall were beautifully rendered, leaving me searching for a tissue (which I had, of course, forgotten to bring). My personal sky-high moment was The Soldiering Life, which was the first Decemberists song I ever heard (thank you, Newbury Comics employee who just happened to be playing the Decemberists when I came to the store to shop for Christmas presents). The instrumental musical chairs during The Chimbley Sweep saw Chris on drums, Petra on Nate's giant bass, Nate with a violin, John and Jenny on guitars and, yes, Colin on accordion. The only blip of the evening came when Colin started For My Own True Love, Lost at Sea in a different key from the usual, leaving both Petra and Jenny to scramble on their instruments. Petra got a mad case of the giggles and couldn't continue singing. It was then explained that Colin had had a capo malfunction. However, the audience loved it and laughed with the band. In that I am only 5'2" and can never see from the floor if a venue is packed, I made sure to get there early (this always pays off) and found myself a wonderful spot up on two steps, so I was able to peer over this massive, pan-generational sea of adoring fans. Every once in a while during a song, I'd look around and realize that at least half the people were mouthing the lyrics. The Decemberists long have arrived. When the show ended, the audience was buzzing from The Mariner's Revenge Song. Colin took some pictures from the stage into the audience; I guess it looked pretty massive to him as well. Outside, the wind was howling, the sky was spitting water, and no one cared. I got drenched on the way to the car but didn't really feel cold. I couldn't go to sleep for another two hours. I've seen this threshold moment for other performers. It's an exciting time. I don't think the Decemberists will be able to go smaller than the Orpheum Theater (about 3,000 seats) the next time they come to town. Let me know if you want to camp out with me for tickets. I need something to look forward to. We are indeed lucky to be living in the age of the Decemberists. *************************************************************************** And that was my review from the Boston show. Jill ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 19:46:16 -0400 From: Christopher Hintz Subject: Oh, my love, my love! On May 30, 2005, at 7:28 PM, fegmaniax-digest wrote: > Stewart and Chris, we just know, right? we have the secret gnostic truth! (wait, was that redundant?) > Jill (who owns one fewer Smiths shirt at the moment) yay, Jill! and screw the warsaw kids (who PAID to hang out with the band in the auction, after all) you got an honest memory, and tons of good karma for your kind deeds. you win! Pres., Friends of Jill Club Christopher Hintz (lurking here since 1994) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 30 May 2005 20:09:30 -0500 From: Jeff Subject: jilldecemberistmaniax While I'm not the Decemberists fanatic our Ms. Brand is (I do like them pretty well though), it's great to know that intense enthusiasms persist even among us 40-ish folks... Certainly I enjoy reading such genuine expressions of enjoyment - so please, even if you persist in thinking Tool (say) doesn't suck ass forty-seven ways till Tuesday, go on and bleed all over the net about why you don't see it that way. np: coincidentally, the Decemberists... Oh - nearly all of that band's material is available at emusic for those of us who are members... ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 10:12:25 -0700 From: Jason Brown Subject: reap The secrecy of Deep Throat's identity: http://tinyurl.com/cv3se http://tinyurl.com/89uoh ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 15:48:55 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: What, No Decembrists? I suppose everyone's heard about the Live 8 shows. In case you haven't seen the lineup: Hyde Park, London Coldplay , Dido , Sir Elton John , Keane , Annie Lennox , Madonna , Mariah Carey , Muse , Scissor Sisters , Sir Paul McCartney , Joss Stone , Stereophonics , Sting , Robbie Williams , U2 , REM , Velvet Revolver , Bob Geldof , The Killers , The Cure , Snow Patrol Museum of Art, Philadelphia Will Smith (host) , Bon Jovi , Maroon 5 , P Diddy , Stevie Wonder, Jay-Z , The Dave Matthews Band , Sarah McLachlan , Rob Thomas , Keith Urban , 50 Cent , Kaiser Chiefs Eiffel Tower, Paris Jamiroquai , Craig David , Youssou N'Dour , Yannick Noah , Andrea Bocelli , Calo Gero , Kyo , Placebo , Axelle Red , Johnny Halliday , Manu Chao , Renaud Brandenburg Gate, Berlin A-ha , Crosby, Stills and Nash , Brian Wilson , Lauryn Hill , Bap , Die Toten Hosen , Peter Maffay Circus Maximus, Rome Duran Duran , Faith Hill , Irene Grandi , Jovanotti , Tim McGraw , Nek , Laura Pasini , Vasco Rossi , Zucchero Tim McGraw in Rome? Pinch Me!!! - -tc (ya gotta believe) ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 16:04:11 -0700 From: Jason Brown Subject: Re: What, No Decembrists? On 5/31/05, Tom Clark wrote: > I suppose everyone's heard about the Live 8 shows. In case you > haven't seen the lineup: To rebut the whole concept of this concert. Here is an article written by an acquaintance of mine. http://tinyurl.com/dftcb ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 18:22:25 -0500 From: Jeff Subject: Re: What, No Decembrists? On 5/31/05, Tom Clark wrote: > I suppose everyone's heard about the Live 8 shows. In case you > haven't seen the lineup: > > Hyde Park, London > Coldplay > , Dido > , Sir Elton John > , Keane > , Annie Lennox > , Madonna > , Mariah Carey > , Muse > , Scissor Sisters > , Sir Paul McCartney > , Joss Stone > , Stereophonics > , Sting > , Robbie Williams > , U2 > , REM > , Velvet Revolver > , Bob Geldof > , The Killers > , The Cure > , Snow Patrol > > Museum of Art, Philadelphia > Will Smith (host) > , Bon Jovi > , Maroon 5 > , P Diddy > , Stevie Wonder, > Jay-Z > , The Dave Matthews Band > , Sarah McLachlan > , Rob Thomas > , Keith Urban > , 50 Cent > , Kaiser Chiefs > > Eiffel Tower, Paris > Jamiroquai > , Craig David > , Youssou N'Dour > , Yannick Noah > , Andrea Bocelli > , Calo Gero > , Kyo > , Placebo > , Axelle Red > , Johnny Halliday > , Manu Chao > , Renaud > > Brandenburg Gate, Berlin > A-ha > , Crosby, Stills and Nash > , Brian Wilson > , Lauryn Hill > , Bap > , Die Toten Hosen > , Peter Maffay > > Circus Maximus, Rome > Duran Duran > , Faith Hill > , Irene Grandi > , Jovanotti > , Tim McGraw > , Nek > , Laura Pasini > , Vasco Rossi > , Zucchero You know, even though there are some good acts listed above, on the whole the list is just depressing. Veritable acres of ass are being sucked. Oh, and while I have the Complain-o-Phone on: I think Geldof is a "Sir" too - but there's something ludicrous in non-Brits actually using such medieval honorifics, esp. for rock (using the term loosely) musicians. Although I think the younger Elton John in particular would have relished performing a show in full armor. - -- ...Jeff The Architectural Dance Society http://spanghew.blogspot.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 31 May 2005 17:48:51 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: What, No Decembrists? Tom Clark wrote: > , Snow Patrol > , Placebo Gosh. And all of two artists whom I wouldn't channel-surf past, too. I think my own question would be "What, no Melissa Etheridge?" since she seems to inevitably turn up at any sucky, do-goody all-star affair.... Eb ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V14 #136 ********************************