The Decemberists @ the Aragon
Anyone from the Pacific Northwest may be quite partial to the oddities that contrive such statements as “Keep Portland Weird”. Weird as a general term for different, the city of Portland enjoys perpetuating a cultural solitude that has been drawing young adults for the past few decades. At a normal concert, where the pump of a bass drum queues a curtain drop to reveal heavily armored rock armies bolstered with riffs, lights, and noise reverberations to rouse the crowd for the first time, The Decemberists show opened with an oddity I have never witnessed at a large concert venue. The mayor of their hometown, Portland, OR, spoke over the crowd asking you to compliment your neighbor and close your eyes and imagine…
Behind the band was a backdrop of large Evergreen trees. Lit in various shades of red, the environment was relaxed and welcoming. As if not to notice the twenty-degree temperature rise due to the thousands of people surrounding you, The Decemberists proceeded to play their set with intermediate displays of affection and showmanship from singer Colin Meloy. With the crowd willing, the band more than grateful, and the Aragon’s sound the best I had heard in months, The Decemberists continued to play a double-encore set to which I will soon not forget.
