The Decemberists, Loch Lomond & crowd-surfing Obama @ Terminal 5, NYC - pics & setlist

Words and photos by Faith-Ann Young

crowd-surfing Obama & Chris Funk @ Terminal 5

It’s hard to bring chamber folk to life with a sold-out audience who lives and breathes The Decemberists, but Loch Lomond did so blissfully. It’s the strength of their music, not necessarily the strength of their live show (as they seemed a bit withdrawn and concentrated heavily on their instruments more than their audience) that makes it worthwhile. That said, Loch Lomond deserve all the accolades they are getting.

Meanwhile, the Decemberists evidently drank a lot of Obama Kool-Aid pre-show (Front-man Colin Meloy in particular) and were on a roll Wednesday night (11/5) [Obama was elected the next president of the United States just one night earlier].

1. They started out early with a killer cover of Dreams by Fleetwood Mac (which brought some hard-core fans up front to tears)
2. Colin Meloy joked about how bandmate Jenny Conlee must have voted for McCain because she made such a somber set list. When the crowd booed, he chuckled “just kidding, that’s like saying fire in a crowd”…..
3. Meloy then yanked a peacock feather from the crowd (who brings a bloody peacock feather to a concert?) and busted out a wicked guitar solo using the feather instead of a hand……..
4. Meloy proceeded to run into the audience, steal a cellphone from an innocent audience member, call someone, and sing a whole song to the caller….while the jaw-dropped audience sang along in full chorus…………
5. Afterwards, Chris Funk picked up a full-sized Obama Cardboard Cut-Out, screamed OBAMMMA along the side of the stage, and then passed the cardboard through the crowd….
6. As the crowd chanted “Yes We Can” and allowed Obama to crowdsurf, Colin simply smiled and said “yes we did”
7. Bottom line: All those who reprimanded The Decemberists in the past for lackluster performances {editor’s note: not me) et al. were rolling over in their already-made graves on Wednesday night….

No question; twas a night to remember. The Decemberists play the Wellmont Theater in NJ on November 11th. More pictures from NYC below…

Loch Lomond…

The Decemberists…

Decemberists NYC setlist (via)

Here was the setlist:
-Shanty For The Arethusa
-July, July
-Dreams [Fleetwood Mac] intro>Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect
-Valerie Plame
-O New England
-The Bachelor and The Bride
-The Engine Driver
-We Both Go Down Together (w/Amanda from Loch Lomond on viola (?))
-Record Year For Rain (w/Amanda from Loch Lomond on viola (?))
-Oceanside
-The Perfect Crime #2
-Days of Elaine
-O Valencia!>Dracula’s Daughter interlude
-Culling of the Fold
-The Chimbley Sweep>
-16 Military Wives
-The Mariner’s Revenge Song
———————
-Raincoat Song (Colin Meloy and John Moen)
-Eli, The Barrow Boy (Colin+Jenny Conlee+Chris Funk)
-Sons And Daughters (w/Loch Lomond)