Saturday, January 16, 2010

"You had a charming air, all cheap and debonair "



'

I survived my Big Day Out, in Auckland and successfully saw a set performed by 'The Decemberists' who I have not seen for years, likely due to the fact that acts do not come to the Southern Hemisphere all that often and when they do, they usually skip Tasmania.
Of course, I had to go to Auckland for this show, but really New Zealand practically feels as if it is Idaho to Washington.
I am always fearful of festival shows, bands usually don't get allotted anywhere near the time to play they normally would, and unless they perform at a lot of festivals, the adjustment can be awkward. I once saw Nick Cave at a festival, and I felt as if I was reading the cliff notes version of my favorite novel.
Also since the release of their last recording, I have imagined 'The Decemberists' playing 'Hazards of Love' in its entirety; in order. I saw a very memorable show in New York at the Knitting Factory, where Smog basically performed 'Red Apple Falls' without any real pauses in its entirety, and it was amazing.

The band started out with 'Crane Wife 3', this song was covered recently by Marianne Faithful in a duet with Nick Cave. The whole set was great, and worth even the sun which was baking me like an egg on a griddle, the trash all around, the dust mucking up my eyes, and people wearing clothing choices that I may never, and I mean never, recover from.
The genius of 'The Decemberists' has not fully become known by the Southern Hemisphere, and the band was (luckily for me) on a smaller stage, this meant that I was able to watch from the crowd without any fear of being trampled, which was a huge plus.
I will be using all my persuasive powers to attend one of the club shows in Melbourne, which is where I am headed next.

2 comments:

amra said...

i think we saw that smog show together, yes? xo

Colleen said...

Yes, that was a really good night out, subway from Brooklyn, late night food after...I have good memories of that NYC visit.