I mean, seriously.
Paul and I and a couple friends went up to the Wharton Center on Wednesday night to see The Decemberists, and it was a pretty bad show.
Not because of the band, oh no. Even Paul and J_, both brand new to the band (J_'s first time hearing them was in the car on the way up) thought their musicianship was outstanding. Tight, thorough, completely engaging.
It was the crowd. They sat there throughout the. entire. show. I'ma say that again: They sat. At a Decemberists concert. Until the final number. (By the way, thank you, three dancing girls a few seats over from us, because without you, nobody would have stood up at all. You guys win. )
I felt so bad for the band. They were giving it their all, and the audience was giving them nothing back. When it came time for the audience response portion, Colin was all, "Come on, guys, you can do better than that!" and it wasn't the usual cajoling -- he was putting on a good face, but you could tell he was thinking, "No, really. Seriously, is that the best you can do?" My heart was breaking, watching him trying to whip some excitement out of the proverbial oil painting.
And worst of all, this being my first Decemberists show, I was so very disappointed, because I went in expecting this. Now I'm going to have to keep a tight watch on their website and try to catch them when they come to Chicago, and in the meantime try to forget that this was my formal live introduction to the band. I totally wouldn't blame them if they never came back this way again.
Now, I want you to pay attention, Michigan State: this is what a Decemberists show ought to look like:
Or this:
Yeah.