Liz and I got to the Catacombs right at 8, and it was still pretty empty, and for some reason, no one else wanted to sit in the front row. So we got the ideal view of the bands and the close-up view of the sound guy's tighty-whitied ass as he kept kneeling down to take pictures in front of us. I don't think he was aware that the belt he was wearing actually served some sort of functional purpose.

But on to the show. Three acts opened up for the Decemberists. First was Drew Victor from Seattle doing a solo acoustic set, joined by a cellist for a couple songs. His voice was kind of Jeff Buckley-esque and his songs were extremely depressing, but overall I thought he was pretty good. Apparently he'll be back at the Catacombs in September, and I'd probably see him again. Up next was local band Charlemagne, fronted by a married couple. The highlight of this band was the drummer, who wore a nice pink shirt. He used brushes and had a bass drum, a snare drum, two cymbals, and an orange. They were pretty disorganized and talked a lot between songs, including some pretty horrible jokes by the aformentioned drummer. I got the impression they hadn't played together in a very long time. I also thought their lyrics were pretty cheesy. But it was kind of funny watching them fumble around for 45 minutes.

The singer officially on tour with the Decemberists was Jeff Hanson, who is on the Kill Rock Stars label. Again an acoustic solo set. I think everyone in the room was taken aback when he started singing- he has an incredibly unique, rather high voice. Once I got over that initial shock though, he grew on me- the songs were really pretty, though he said many of them were much more "rockin" on his album with the full band.

Finally though, the Decemberists. I was expecting great things from this band, and they more than exceeded my expectations. The band consisted of an acoustic bass, a girl drummer (I love watching female drummers, they have such a different style), a female accordion/keyboard player, the singer and guitarist, and a steel guitar. And boy, could that girl rock that accordion. There aren't enough accordions in modern rock today. An accordion solo can really make any good song great.

Every article I've ever read about the Decemberists compares the singer, Colin Meloy, to Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Magnum, because, well, they sound extremely similar. So when I got the CD, all I could think was, "wow, they sound a lot like Neutral Milk Hotel." But seeing the Decemberists live, he definitely brought his own style and personality to that voice. And what a voice it is. It had me completely entranced. Colin also had a very good stage presence, and he was so charming and endearing I wanted to bring him home to my parents.

The band sounded pretty phenomenal, a very full and powerful sound. I think my favorite part was Cautionary Song, which made me feel like I was at a circus. I mean that in a good way too; if you've heard this song (which you should soon because everyone should go out and buy this CD right away), it has a circus feel, and the way the accordion player plays, she kind of looks like a puppet on strings. The lyrics are hysterical too. It was nice to take a break from the depressing music I've been hearing over the past two days (Arab Strap, Bright Eyes) to hear songs about Turkish prostitutes and the crazy things your mother does when you're sleeping.

I can't believe I only had to pay 5 bucks to sit 5 feet away from such an amazing band. I can't rave about them enough. Go buy their CD. Now. And enjoy this picture of the Decemberists that I got off their website, in some sort of detective pose. Guess which one plays the accordion?

-Nicole