Same great band, but a different show altogether

Monday, September 12 marked the second sold out show in two nights for the Decemberists at the Fillmore in San Francisco. The music program started out with a return to the old: they played what seemed like the entire Tain album right up front.

The band has been continuously on tour since their most recent album, Picaresque, was released in mid-March of 2005. I saw them the day after the album release on March 23 playing at Bimbo's in North Beach. That show featured a full run through of the new album, which was fabulous. It was the first time I'd ever seen this band live, so that performance kind of set the tone for my future expectations. I left Bimbo's that night really energized because the new music was fresh, sharp, and just what I was looking for. Last night they only played three songs from Picaresque, so I get the feeling the band is looking to take a step back for the meantime. They ended this show in the same way as before, with the Mariner's Revenge song.

The majority of the music played at last night's show was older, and a couple songs I'd never even heard. It was a different kind of newness. My friend Tom really liked the performance, he'd never seen them live either.

I hope it was just what he was looking for, too.