A Sunday night is generally not the best idea for a concert, however, The Decemberists have not been to Cincinnati, and technically still have not, as The Southgate House is right across the river in Newport, Kentucky.

It was not a Sunday night feel however, nor a Sunday night crowd, as Colin Meloy and his mates did a nice job to make us feel comfortable and entertained. The nostalgic feel of a Decemberists album harkens back to the colonial days if anything, with traces of brit and pre-revolution vocabulary. Mr. Meloy strikes me as well read as I page through Decemberists lyrics, and quite witty as well. As evidenced by such track as The Sporting Life and others from thier most recent album Picaresque.

While the majority of the set focused on said new album, the highlight of the night in my opinion was the raucous version of “The Chimbly Sweep”, in which Colin had the audience eating out of his hand as he motioned them all to kneeling positions while band members swapped instruments and goofed off for awhile. Only to bring them back to thier feet as the song hit a high point. Quite entertaining at least. Other favorites creeped into the mix as well. Notably Oceanside and The Legionnaires Lament were nice to hear in the live setting.

The Picaresque songs stand alone however almost as well live as they do on the album, which I consider to be one of the better in the expanding Portland bands catalog, and thier live set is highly recommended. It appears that Sunday night is quite a nice night for a show after all.

About Joe Long

Joe started ENS in 2003 after most people he wanted to talk to about music were worn thin by his ramblings. The outlet this site provided helped out, and somehow is still going 9 years later. After a four year stint as a WOXY DJ, Joe returned to Cincinnati and continues to pioneer ENS. In addition to the overall look and feel of the site, Joe provides regular reviews, and kinda makes sure this whole thing stays afloat.