The Decemberists at the Pabst

Last night I experienced the Pabst Theater how it's meant to be experienced – no cavemen allowed!

Dave and I saw The Decemberists and, even though I went in barely knowing anything about them or by them, it was probably one of the best concerts I've ever been to.

The sold-out show was general admission, so when we arrived at five minutes til 8:00, we didn't expect to get very good seats. We did alright, though, ending up in the middle section, dead center. The little theater was packed; the hipsters drinking their oversized cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon and cocktail waitresses with glow sticks on their trays making the rounds to make sure people had what they needed without having to get up and disturb their whole row.

The opening act was My Brightest Diamond. I didn't love the music, but the lead singer was fun to watch as she jumped around the stage, and thankfully, the set was pretty short. The crowd around us talked and talked throughout the opening act, which I thought was completely rude; at one point Dave leaned over and said "it sounds like a lunchroom in here!"

Luckily they all shut up when it was time for the Decemberists. I was feeling a little sleeping before they came on and I thought, oh great, it's going to be a long night. I took advantage the next time the cocktail waitress came around and I ordered a drink. It was supposed to be whiskey and seven but was instead, I believe, whiskey on the rocks. ZING! That perked me right up. Then with the show the Decemberists put on, there was no way anyone could be sleepy!

The band took the stage and the crowd's cheers and screams reverberated through the old theater. The band was a class act, the four guys dressed in light-colored attire, two with ties, one with a hat, and the lead singer in a jacket. The girl in the group wore a light cotton dress and flat shoes.

The stage featured a muted rural setting in the background and six giant white paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling that lit up with the music. The band played all kinds of instruments, with Colin Meloy, the lead singer, switching out his guitars after nearly every song. The other members played an organ, a bass, a cello, a keyboard, drums, an accordion and a few things I didn't even recognize.

Colin's voice is so unique, and he sounded perfect, just like on his albums – what I've heard of them, anyway. He interacted with the audience a lot between songs, encouraging singing along, clapping, waving of the hands, and even some "mid-show calisthenics" during which he made a joke about the "lack of aerobic activity" in Milwaukee. I was slightly insulted, but then he went on to say, hey, it's a national epidemic. He led the group in knee bends and arm raises and jumping up and down – it was very amusing.

He also commented on how beautiful Milwaukee is and how lucky we are to have a venue like the Pabst Theater. Sure, artists probably say such things wherever they go, but I believed him.

Toward the end of the show, he referenced the horrible tragedy at Virginia Tech and told us all to sing along with the next song. They sang "Sons and Daughters" and part of the lyrics were "hear all the bombs fade away." We sang that line together probably 50 times and it was really moving.

"Hear all the bombs – fade away. Hear all the bombs – fade away. Hear all the bombs – fade away."

They left the stage after about an hour or an hour and a half, and when they came back out, they sang "The Mariner's Revenge Song," which I'd heard before and which was just about the most entertaining encore ever. Before they started the extra-long song, Colin instructed the crowd on how to scream like we were being eaten by a whale. It was hilarious.

The song was so peppy and the story so good, and finally, we all got to scream like a whale was eating us as we pretended to rip at our clothing and fight for dear life. After that, we clapped along with the music with all our might, the drum beat getting faster and faster until I thought my hands might fall off.

We left the theater happy and totally jazzed up – it was a bit hard to fall asleep last night.

The concert was awesome and the Pabst is such a perfect venue for a show like that. As we walked the few blocks back to our car after the show, I looked at the city all lit up along the river and, maybe it was the music, maybe it was the whiskey, but I couldn't help but get a little verklempt at how lucky we are to live where we do!

Comments

[bluesphee]

Alright! Glad to hear you two made it to the show as well! What an awesome time, right? I posted a review up @ Mirr World with a bunch of videos and pictures that you'll really enjoy. Here's a direct link:

http://mirrworld.blogspot.com/2007/04/decemberists-pabst-theater-concert.html

Glad you got to experience The Pabst the right way finally! :)

[Aunt June]

I'm pretty sure "Hear all the bombs – fade away" is a reference to ending war – more specifically war in Iraq. Colin Meloy also said at the show that the only place violence is acceptable is in works of fiction. I'm pretty sure you and your husband aren’t on board with that (kind of like the time you ran into those peace protesters).

[Erin]

Yeah, June, because I just love bombs and war and death.

What an absolutely moronic statement.

[Dave]

That's so utterly ridiculous, Aunt June. This is not a left/right argument. If I thought we could end it all tomorrow and Iraq wouldn't slip into civil war I'd be the first person screaming for the troops to come home. The fact of the matter is that that is not what would happen. If you think war is what any truly sane person wants then you my friend are out of your gourd.

[Dave]

Ohhh and the concert was really good. My only dissapointment was that they didn't play "Chimney Sweep."

[Erin]

Dave, honey, why did you even justify her comment with an explanation? Just drop it - it's too ridiculous to even warrant a response.

[Aunt June]

I guess I just wish we hadn't gotten into a war with Iraq to begin with.

[Erin]

I think we all wish that. But it's no reason to insult me personally.

[Christi]

hahaha, why don't I remember you guys "running into those peace protesters" =) That would have made for a funny little blog entry.

[Erin]

Christi, it was a blog entry, do you not remember? We had quite the discussion in the comments section, which you contributed to.

http://playinthecity.blogs.com/milwaukee_outdoors_erins_/2006/08/on_movies_and_w.html

[Krista]

Gosh, you know, I remember that time you and Dave actually STARTED the war in Iraq. You heathens.

It's all Play In The City's fault, by the way.

[Christi]

Yeah..my bad. I took that statement a little too literally. I was picturing you actually running into them (like with a car or something). I do remember the post.