When Portland-based indie folk band the Decemberists played the Overture Center, they gave Madison an extended evening of tunes off their old albums and new unreleased EP, as well as some unexpected surprises.
The first surprise came even before the Decemberists took the stage — the highly unpublicized, but wonderful act that preceded them. With nothing more than a violinist, a keyboard and an entrancing set of vocals, London-based singer-songwriter Olivia Chaney warmed the crowd.
Though her set only lasted about 20 minutes, her powerful lyrics of harsh realities and lovers lost silenced the room, speaking where words fell short.
Shortly following Chaney’s performance, the venue went dark and a single spotlight fell upon center stage, exposing the Decemberists’ lead singer Colin Meloy. In an unconventional manner, he began the set playing solo — with just an acoustic guitar and none of his other band members. One song passed, then another, then another, but he continued to play by his lonesome.
It wasn’t until four or five songs in that the rest of the Decemberists joined Meloy on stage, reminding audiences they are in fact a band.
They came in with a bang, leading into a long streak of their more upbeat tunes. They maintained a high-energy feel for the rest of the show, moving through a selection of old songs intertwined with new unreleased songs off their EP, which Meloy exclaimed audience members could buy at the merchandise table, prior to the set Oct. 9 release date.
Between musical numbers, the band made improvised jokes, poking fun at Gov. Scott Walker’s withdrawal from the election and the controversy behind getting flu shots.
Additionally, they surprised attendees by responding to their screams, making public conversation with audience members from across the orchestra to the highest balcony.
The band took the impromptu audience interaction a step further when they stunned two fans by bringing them on stage and handing them their instruments — an acoustic guitar for one, an electric guitar for the other.
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Upon the hand-off of the instruments, the two fans, standing before the entire crowd, were asked to battle it out with solos. The only problem was neither fan knew exactly how to play the instruments they were holding. They attempted to play some chords, which prompted audience cheers, while causing some earaches.
As the guitar battle ended, the Decemberists took back their instruments to play one final number before heading off stage.
Expecting an encore, the audience remained seated. But the minutes passed and the venue remained dark. Some attendees began to make their way out of the theater, slowly coming to the conclusion the show had ended.
Finally, after about 10 minutes, the Decemberists once again stepped on stage, not for the typical two-song encore, but to play approximately seven more songs — basically another set’s worth.
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Though the songs in the encore portion of the show were good, they seemed to drag the Wednesday night show on a bit too long, making it around a whopping three hours — a bit lengthy, regardless of how great the musicianship.
