It’s been six years since The Decemberists last played in Australia, with the band making their triumphant return to our shores off the back of last year’s album What A Terrible World, What A Beautiful World. The band played a good dose of the new album, along with old favourites that capture the Portlandians’ inimitable ability to turn folklore into song. Support came from Shakey Graves who appeared beyond excited to be performing in Hamer Hall, speaking a number of times without a microphone to highlight the venue’s acoustics. Delivering an animated set that featured songs To Cure What Ails… and Dearly Departed, Graves expressed his delight in supporting a band he clearly adores.
With a glass of red wine and a smirk on his face, Decemberists lead singer Colin Meloy casually strolled onstage. Never was there a more fitting opening song than The Singer Addresses His Audience as Meloy started the night’s proceedings solo. Meloy’s humour could easily serve as the highlight of the show, managing to squeeze in some golden stage banter before each song. “That’s a new arrangement of that song, it came to me in a jet lagged dream”, Meloy added after playing Cavalry Captain. More than once Meloy commented on the quiet Tuesday night crowd. “You’re all so polite and quiet”, he observed before shutting down a heckler in the crowd. “That wasn’t an invitation to be unruly,” he jokingly snapped. While the crowd was a little more subdued during the newer material, classics Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect and O Valencia! gave diehard Decemberists fans a chance to make themselves known.
Squeezing in three encores, the band surprised with a cover of the Hoodoo Gurus’ Death Defying before delivering a show stealing rendition of The Mariner’s Revenge Song. With a cardboard cut-out of a giant whale and a request for the audience to “Scream like you’re being eaten by a whale,” the show quickly turned into a musical comedy much to the glee of the audience.
While it cannot be denied that The Decemberists are stellar live performers, it was ultimately the additional theatrics and audience engagement that made this show memorable. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take them six years to come back.
BY HOLLY PEREIRA
LOVED: The giant cardboard whale.
HATED: Awkwardly shuffling past people already seated.
DRANK: Mint infused water (aka water with a chewie in my mouth).
