Caught the last few tunes from Chicago based rockers Ratboys. While not entirely male, lead Ratboy and singer was decidedly female. Standard quartet with bass, drums and lead guitar joined the lead Ratgirl. Jammy rockers, Ratboys did a good job of warming the near capacity crowd for a Saturday.
The Decemberists have been positively reviewed in this blog before. Archaeological wordsmiths from Portland OR, this band has been making quality music for years. The brainchild of lead singer Colin Meloy, they straddle the lines between indie-pop-quirky Americana. The lyrics are often dark with tales of murder and intrigue from bygone eras. I mean who uses petticoat, or “birthed me down a dry ravine” in a song lyric? Like the career arc of Mofro (reviewed a few weeks back), the Decemberists discography is a steady barrage of timely quality releases with gems to be polished on each record. Assisting Meloy are a crew of multi-instrumentalists that shape the sound. Bassist Nate Query moved from electric to acoustic standup with ease. Accordionist Jenny Conlee also played keys on certain tunes. Chris Funk played a variety of brass instruments, starting out on a French horn flugel combo. Lead guitar moved to occasional banjo, and there was a young female singer that helped the guy-girl nature of some tunes. The setlist was culled from most releases :All I Want is You, Shankill Butchers, The Bachelor and the Bride, Don’t Carry it All, (new tune) Burial Ground, The Crane Wife, Traveling On, The WantingComes In Waves ( from the fabulous Hazards of Love record), Long White Veil, Make You Better, Severed, 16 Military Wives. Closed with the apt I Was Meant For The Stage and encored with the new Joan In The Garden. Go to Spotify and preview this tune, it ends with a 14 minute drone scrawl of feedback that gets the listener wondering what is happening. Erudite pranksters, one can only think that the tune is a message from Meloy to someone. Always enjoyable to see what these smarty pants are up to.
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