Decemberists, Red Square 5/5

Red Square at my school was transformed into a 'music festival' as the Decemberists stopped by for the last date on their tour. Although I've seen them twice already (plus Colin Meloy solo), I was excited to see their new material live for the first time. They opened with 'The Crane wife III' and next they played 'The Island', which is my favorite track on the album, and sounded great live by the way. Highlights of the show included an inspired theatrical performance of "Crane Wife" B-side 'Culling of the Fold', in which Colin transversed the stage with only a microphone and cord acting out parts of the song as he sung. Probably the coolest moment of the show was when he asked the audience to sing the chorus of 'Sons and Daughters', which came off beautifully. The only misstep occurred during the encore, when Colin messed up the lyrics to 'Eli the Barrow Boy'--long tour I guess. Overall, it was a great show and I thoroughly enjoyed hearing the new material live.

Here's the B-side they played:
Decemberists - 'Culling of the Fold'

Bright Eyes, Paramount Theatre, 5/1

Is it just me or is Conor Oberst beginning to look more and more like Jack White lately? Fortunately he sounds nothing like him. A lot has changed since I last saw Bright Eyes in November 2005, Conor has surrounded himself with a 'permanent band' and the production that is their live show has vastly improved. Their set was heavy on the new tunes form Cassadaga, which I like, but I'm not sure it's as epic as 'Wide Awake'. Conor only dipped into his back catalogue briefly, playing only two pre-Digital Ash/Wide Awake tunes-- "Method Acting" and crowd favorite "The Calendar Hung Itself (with bongo drums added in?)".

The visuals behind the band were both inventive and intriguing, and added a lot to the show. Basically, there was a dude in the back playing with shit on a document camera that was projected on a screen behind the band, the idea seems simple, but it turned out to be pretty awesome (dripping food coloring into water has never looked so cool). Unfortunately, there weren't as many drunk Conor moments this time, so I didn't walk away with a new guitar which kind of disappoints me. During the final encore ('Road To Joy'--by far my favorite song of the night), Conor jumped off stage--as his band mates looked on with that 'Oh shit what's he going to do now?' look on their face, as he threw flowers from the stage into the crowd for about 3 minutes as the rest of the band improvised before the final verse. Overall, it was a great show, and I'm definitely in the camp that supports Connor's movement toward folk/Americana, hopefully I get to see them live again soon.

Bright Eyes - Road To Joy (live from the Motion Sickness LP)

Finally, TODAY is the Decemberists concert in Red Square at our campus, I'm super stoked. THEN tomorrow I'm going to see Explosions in the Sky in Seattle-- this week is shaping up to be one of the best concert-going weeks in my life, it's awesome! I'll be sure to keep you updated, as well as posting about some new music I've been digging lately...

Who The Fuck are Arctic Monkeys?

Even though there's probably nobody left asking this question, they did release a new album this week. I haven't had a ton of time to listen to it, but from what I've heard so far, it's more of the same catchy Brit rock that they burst onto the scene with last year (selling at a faster rate than the Beatles in the UK--that's saying something). This disc seems a bit darker, but no less catchy.

Check it:

Arctic Monkeys - 'Brainstorm'

-ALSO-
I plan on hitting up the 'Free Yr Radio' event this week at Urban Outfitters in Seattle to see the Long Winters (for the first time), they have a great lineup and are hitting quite a few cities, and it's free-- which is awesome. Plus it's all for a good cause benefiting college and independent radio stations across the country (KEXP in Seattle). Check out the remaining schedule here (and print tickets out for future shows).