July! July!

I remember when I first discovered the music of The Decemberists. It was early in 2004 when B had given me a copy of The Tain and Five Songs. I instantly fell in love with their music and would get to see a less-than-sold-out show at Trees just a few months later. Since then, I've seen the band something like seven times including Monday nights show at Summerstage in Central Park.

The sold out show lasted hour and forty minute show and included one very long encore. I was surprised how little they played from their most recent album, The Crane Wife. The suite called The Island sounded incredible and I was happy when they played Summersong. I was happy to get some of the older songs like July! July! and Oceanside. The first set closed with Sons & Daughters. It was awesome to hear and sing along to, "Hear all the bombs fade away".

The second set included what may be the bands two most fun songs in their catalog. First was Chimbley Sweep, in which Colin puts all the band members to sleep and then asks the crowd to sit down. And when they sing, "I'll shake you from your sleep", the crowd rises again. Then, to close the show, they played the crowd favorite Mariner's Revenge Song, asking the crowd to scream as if they had been swallowed by a whale. Both songs are fun to sing along to.

The Decemberists are one of the best live acts around. Singer Colin Meloy really knows how to entertain a crowd by getting them involved in sing alongs and other activities. The band always brings along a host of instruments such as a stand-up bass, melodica, and accordion. I highly recommend seeing them on tour.