Father John Misty and the Decemberists at Merriweather Post Pavilion, June 4, 2015

I went with Jill, Rachel, and Dana on a rainy night to sit on a soggy lawn listening to gorgeous music. It was worth it. The rain wasn’t a torrential downpour, and eventually, it let up, but the muddy bonding moment was worth the damp, and the show was very good.

I think all four of us bought the tickets more for Father John Misty than the Decemberists. I hadn’t seen him in a live show yet, and I loved it. First thing you see is a giant neon “No Photography” sign in a heart. The neon changes colors and flashes in different patterns throughout the set. The stage was very dark at first (red, I think), perhaps to further discourage photography. So of course, here’s my photo.

 Joshua Tillman is Father John’s real name, and he hails for Rockville, MD, though Los Angeles is now his home. His stage persona is a cantankerous, apathetic, checked-out, pissed-off jerk. I found that refreshing. There were snide half-jokes at the audience’s expense and just enough engagement with the audience to make you want more, even though he acted as though he couldn’t care less about the fans. It underscored how he was playing 180 degrees against rock star type. Very anti-hero.  There were no gracious thank yous and how he appreciated us all coming out in the weather.

Nope. Just awesome singing chops, a stage shtick that kept you guessing about what would come next, great sound quality, and his trademark subversive lyrics in beautiful arrangements. It was so different from typical that I enjoyed it far more than most shows I’ve seen. I was also surprised that I know the lyrics to so many of his songs, all from listening to XMU on Sirius. I wouldn’t have called myself a big fan before the show, but now I’m hooked.

Decemberists has a beautiful stage backdrop that looked like their album cover art, with little shrine statues scattered about the instruments like a treasure hunt. The sound quality was again excellent, and Colin Meloy was great at engaging the audience (and he was a ray of sunshine by comparison – even singing a song about murdering children.) The rain also cleared out during their set.  They had a long set, which is unusual for the acts I go to see.  We left after an hour and they didn’t seem to be an the end yet. There were tons of songs I knew, plus a sampling of new works from the album. There was one song I LOVED live that I can’t identify. In it, Colin rocked out and it switched back and forth between a husky alto female singer and him. It might have been a cover, but it really worked for me.  I think it might have been the contrast between that sound and the rest of the folksy set. A blog follower (Wonderfox - interesting secret identity there!) IDed it as "The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid." Thanks for the tip!

One thing I really noticed: my heros are getting old. Colin Meloy looked the youngest on the stage (he’s a year younger than I am),  and some of his band mates appeared to be at the older end of the middle age spectrum. On the one hand, it’s affirming to see middle age people creating and performing great music. On the other, mortality reminder. The accordion player is rather famous for her recent fight against breast cancer.

In all, loved the mood of the show. If it weren't for the rain, it could have been one of my favorites of the year.