The Decemberists give an impeccable performance at the Ogden.
Photo courtesy of New York Times. Artwork by Mia Nogueira
hip-ster (hip-stir)
n. pl. hip-sters
1. A 21st century hippie; a modern beatnick
2. A conceited, self-righteous music-buff who despises all things mainstream
3. Anyone who likes the Decemberists.
It was Christmas day, and I was ecstatic. In my hands I held a small yellow envelope. “To Luke and a special guest,” was scribbled across the front, highlighted by a glossy red ribbon crudely bundling the wrinkled pouch. The title of the gift made it obvious; these were concert tickets. Without falter, I ripped the envelope open, carefully handling the two small pieces of paper inside it. My eyes scanned the tickets frantically, searching for a familiar band name and a nearby date. Instead, I find these words: “The Decemberists, February 10, The Ogden.”
Who? When? What?
In my life I have been to a rare few concerts, all performed by bands which I’ve grown up listening to. Upon receiving tickets to The Decemberists concert, I discovered I had only heard two of their songs –O’ Valencia and The Crane Wife 3- neither of which I knew were by that particular band. They were good songs, and I certainly didn’t mind when they came up on the radio, but the music genre itself simply wasn’t my cup of tea. From what I had heard, the Decemberists seemed to be a mellow, folk-pop band of middle-aged musicians who prided themselves on using a wide range of instruments. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. It just isn’t my style of music.
I shrugged, threw the tickets into a pile of vagrant papers and unread letters, and swiftly forgot about the concert. By the time February came along, I barely remembered the discarded gift that lay buried beneath my desk’s endless clutter.
It was two days before the concert. I still hadn’t listened to any more of the Decemberists’ music, and I still didn’t plan to. My parents had recently reminded me of the event, and I pretended to be severely anticipatory for it. However, this false excitement promptly morphed into strong distaste after a brief conversation with a good friend while playing cards at my house.
“So what are you doing for the rest of the week?” He said.
“Not much. On Thursday I think I’m going to a Decemberists concert.”
“The Decemberists?! You do know that’s hipster trash, right?”
I didn’t.
Regardless of this highly saddening news, I decided to go to the concert anyway, accompanied by my girlfriend. After all, it would give me a great excuse to malign hipsters while writing a concert-review.
Our first sight while entering the Ogden certainly didn’t help my premonition: a group of young, blathering college students wearing tucked-in polos and fedoras. I rolled my eyes dramatically and sauntered into the concert hall, which was illuminated with filtered lighting and echoing with hackneyed, alternative-folk music through the speakers. This also didn’t help.
After about a half hour of standing awkwardly in an ocean of prattling hipsters, attempting to ignore the forceful odor of marijuana that lingered throughout the crowd, I noticed the lights fading. A bright spotlight flickered and focused center stage, followed by a group of six beaming instrumentalists who were soon greeted by a wave of applause and screams. They looked normal enough; at least considering this was the first time I had even witnessed what they looked like. Without wasting any time, they scooped up their instruments, turning on their microphones, and started to play.
They were good. Really good.
When I say that the Decemberists is the most solid, passionate, and in-tune band I’ve ever seen, I mean it. The vocals were flawless, the guitar was powerful, the drums were steady and alluring; even the accordion added uniqueness and grandeur to their performance.
Having played in multiple bands and small ensembles, I know the difficulties of achieving a sound of unity while playing in a large group. It takes hours of practice over weeks of endless commitment, not to mention the immense patience it requires to play the same song over and over and over. But, after only two minutes on stage, the Decemberists proved to me that they had put in the effort, and had received a spectacular result in return.
Before long I was totally absorbed in the music, entirely forgetting the crowd of shrieking hipsters that surrounded me. Every song played, while remaining faithful to the Decemberists’ individual style, was different, and succeeded in keeping my attention through their final encore. The band’s lead-singer -Colin Meloy- continuously switched between acoustic and electric guitar, also occasionally pulling out a mandolin and showing off his wild-fingering skills. The accordionist –Jenny Conlee- also displayed a wide range of talents playing the piano, the organ, and even percussion. In fact, I find it impossible to remember all the instruments played by the Decemberists throughout the concert. The band’s multi-talented members allowed them to waiver between slow, moving folk-ballads and heavy, passionate rock songs without bringing a second band onstage and, frankly, it kept me highly involved throughout the concert.
Between songs, the Decemberists proved to be humble, gracious, and actually quite funny. Colin Meloy certainly didn’t avoid the occasional groan while tuning his guitar, and Jenny Conlee was able to keep the audience chuckling with her heavy display of Star Wars fandom. “Do you see what I have to deal with?” said Meloy, pointing angrily at Conlee and shaking his head. “She should have just stuck to her Star Wars lore.”
By the time the concert ended with a highly-energetic encore that involved a vast amount of audience participation –including the crowd having to scream in terror during gaps in the song- I felt heavily satisfied. The Decemberists proved to be not only musically brilliant, but also highly capable of putting on a fun and thoughtful show for both fans and newcomers (like myself).
So, are the Decemberists hipsters? I don’t know. Maybe they are. I guess I understand what my friend meant when he called them “hipster trash.” After all, they certainly do appeal to the stuck-up college student demographic. But does that detract from the fact that their music is unique, absorbing, and highly creative? I don’t think so.
I went into this concert completely blind. I had never seen the band, I had barely heard the band, and the only description I had heard of them was that they pandered to uptight, conceited hipsters. So why did I go into the concert with horrible expectations?
The Decemberists is a fantastic band. I don’t know if they’re sellouts, hipsters, or even complete jerks. I don’t even know who all listens to them. All I know is that they were great live, and I’m still thanking my parents for buying me the tickets.
