Because I can't be with my valentine today, I feel like pissing on the entire holiday. That's not really possible, so I'm moping by listening to "Valentine's Day Massacre" by Rustic Overtones. Rustic's singer has a deep gravelly voice which is just perfect for chronicling heartbreak. Imogen Heap adds a higher pitch to break up the moodiness with just the right amount of discordant singing to bust up the jam.
Last week I was listening to my Pandora station, when this peppy new song called "Science Is Golden" popped up. It was catchy, and spoke to my (inner) science geek. Turns out the Grates are just that- great at making catchy indie pop songs. I don't know much about them, but I'm professing my love here first to the mog-o-sphere.
The Decemberists with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra
Saturday July 14, 2007
Epic. There is no other word to describe the amazing-ness of this show. The Decemberists have a good amount of cannon fodder for the category of epic EP's, but this show blew every one of those recordings out of the water.
Even though there were over 150 people in attendance Merriweather Post Pavillion still felt like an intimate venue with a small indie band- albeit an indie band with an orchestra. Though they tried to hide it behind professionalism, I did see a few of the musicians enjoying the sounds of their labor. It begs the question- have The Decemberists played with other orchestras in the past? Is this now a regular part of their new touring regime?
This was definitely a special show for true fans. They played all their really big songs, many of them fan favorites and few from the newest album, The Crane Wife.
The Decemberists have tried in the past to convey grandiosity through the self-accompaniment of a single strings player layered many times over, but there has always been something missing. This show at Merriweather corrected all those past mistakes. The cymbals crashed, the strings and brass musicians enhanced otherwise hollow portions of songs such as July, July! and Los Angeles, I'm Yours. The outdoor amphitheater was totally filled by the sound without leaving a ringing sensation in my ears. Truly, this was a once in a lifetime concert experience for me. Any future Decemberists show will be a disappointment because the bar has now been set so high by my first show.
Comments
aw poop, sorry you couldn't be w/ your valentine. but look, v day came and went!