a week in EPs day #4: the decemberists - the tain

i first found out about the tain completely by accident, because i was in a literature class about j.r.r. tolkien (yes, THAT tolkien), and we were investigating his influences, which included norse myths, beowulf, and an 8th century irish epic entitled the tain. because i wasn't a very diligent student, i didn't actually read the tain, and, as a result, i can't tell you if the decemberists' version is at all like the original (though one would guess not very much, since meloy's lyrics reference motorcades, among other modern amenities). anyway, i was googling the epic, to find some clues as to what the story was about (since i couldn't be bothered to read it), when, lo and behold, i came upon an EP by the decemberists. this was in 2006, so the crane wife had yet to be unleashed upon the world, and i was still very much in love with picaresque. what a shock it was to me, then, to hear the decemberists' own epic, with a storyline far more varied than that of "the bagman's gambit" or, even, "the mariner's revenge song." the 18 minutes of the tain are divided into five parts, appropriately (if unimaginatively) named pt. I, pt. II, pt. III, pt. IV, and pt. V. it was even more shocking to learn that the tain had been recorded and released before picaresque, as the tain is probably the most sophisticated and mature piece of songwriting meloy & co. have ever pulled off.

the work opens with a spare, finger-picked guitar line, almost lecherous in intent, foreshadowed by the imperfect letters and foreboding clouds on the cover. these beginning notes are bent to the point of being crooked, reverberating within the guitar's soundbox. throughout the song, meloy inhabits different characters, from a (undoubtedly) wizened old crone at the start (and end) of the album, to a husband, a captain, a soldier, and a mother, in what pitchfork calls a relatively faithful reinterpretation of the tain bo cuilange, the work's original name in irish. like i said, i'm not here to debate that point - what i am here to do is tell you why this EP kicks some serious fucking ass. which, in case you were wondering, it definitely does. there is melodrama here that is more pronounced than in any other decemberists song, before or since, with the notes so spaced and rickety that one can nearly see the crone limping with one hand on her cane, scolding in a eerily high voice that seems closer to a shriek, meloy's tenor notwithstanding. the tain also features one of the few naughty words in the decemberists' catalog - in pt. I, the meloy crone talks of incest (as far as i can make out), how "your sister" has "your cock in her kisser" - suggestive words for such a pg rated band. pt. I is over almost before you notice - it's only two verses, each with its own musical postlude, before it seamlessly segues into pt. II. seamless though the transition is, it doesn't take long to realize that there is something rotten in the state of ireland. the music shifts from a focused, creeping evil that sends shivers up your spine to a harder, rockier groove with a pronounced guitar line, that nearly has a chorus. jenny conlee adds some simply electrifying organ parts to complement meloy's dismal lyrics, which (i think) are about conscription. the music has a much steadier rhythm, almost like a military march, yet the minor key suggests that all the conscripts are riddled with fear, and are about to break ranks.

even if the piece was not deliberately and noticeably divided into five parts, with liner notes and such, the decemberists have not made much of an attempt to connect each of the five songs in any sense beyond the transition from one to another. a simple change in the key signature and fade take us from pt. II to pt. III, but the necessity for connectivity is not great - that's why the divisions are obvious. the energy of the first two parts quickly fades and is replaced by a deliberate fear that connotes a watching soldier, stock still, as the enemy unlooses their super weapon, as his mind begins to contemplate his own death. nate query uses a bow for his bass in the section, adding further melancholy and distance to this section, as meloy softens his own sharp voice, lending their blunt edges to the overall feeling of stunned silence, of shock, as even the chaplain surrenders himself to the sword of the enemy.

pt. IV is the evening after the battle, the accordion-led shanty of the widows that implies more theft than bereft, as rachel blumberg, the pre-john moen drummer, whispers lyrics of longing and of ghosts on their march to the afterlife. the irreverence of her lines is echoed in the interlude between the verses, a raucous, bilge-swilling shanty that would be better suited to a rolling deck that a battlefield, speckled with chromatic scales and the clanking of tin cans. on the other hand, it could hint at the leisure these ghosts will enjoy, now that their number has been called, and the song ends ambiguously, as if refusing to answer this question. a quiet roll on the snare haunts the silence between pts. IV and V, before meloy enters, sotto voce. this part of the tain is marked by sharp dynamic shifts, between the near-silence of meloy, with only the snare for company, and the sharp organ/guitar led parts interspersed between. with less than two minutes left in the epic, the decemberists finally all join together for some good old fashioned fun - heavy on the harmonies, gentle acoustic strumming, you know the drill. but just as you think all is well, they return to the treacherous melody of pt. I, and the voice of the crone. s/he sings us out, accompanied only by the faintest of guitar pickings, as we "go wandering home."

varied and dynamic, the tain represents the most diverse and disciplined work in the decemberists' catalog, a work that is unlikely to be equaled. looking at their chronology, it seems surprising that they didn't learn any lessons from the tain for picaresque, but the crane wife at least has "the island" - a direct descendant of this, their first lengthy epic. as it is, the tain is too good to hope for a reprisal - i prefer to think of it as a brief, bright spark in the decemberists universe. with it clocking in at 18:35, live performances of the tain are few and far between, but, luckily, there was one quite recently, when the decemberists performed with the l.a. philharmonic. i've posted it below. you can download the rest of the show here, and get all your decemberists merchandise here and here.

the decemberists - "the tain," live at the hollywood bowl, 7/7/2007

the decemberists, my brightest diamond @ avalon, 3/24/07

with all the success the decemberists have enjoyed lately (like being npr's album of the year...a much better way to attract aging fans), it's great to see them still playing medium sized clubs. though the avalon is pretty shitty, with a much-too-narrow stage (it's more of a nightclub, less of a proper rock venue), colin and co. threw their backs into it and put on a great show for the sold-out house. this was my third time seeing them, though my first post-crane wife, so i was somewhat prepared for their antics, though they still managed to impress.

this show had special significance for me because my sister (who took all the pictures) and mother came up from new york for it. i took a weekend off and caught the train down from maine, and we all met up for the show, our first as a family (and their first with the decemberists). my mom receives a lot of music through osmosis the way my sister and i crank up the volume when we're home, and the decemberists had worked their way into her heart (or, at the very least, their damn-catchy melodies were rolling around in her head). in any event, we scored some extra tickets off the ever-reliable craigslist and reserved a room for the night.

my brightest diamond opened, an act i was looking forward to more than the decemberists. i had heard her stunning bring me the workhorse, released last summer, but had always gotten the impression that she was holding something back, that her majestic wails and octave jumps were reserved. i was hoping that her live show would be more satisfying, and, damn, was it.

shara worden, a.k.a. my brightest diamond, used to (still does?) sing in sufjan's illinoisemakers, but you would never have guessed it in her outfit that night. a far cry from cheerleading outfits and pigtails, worden and the other diamonds set the fashion tone for the night in their head-to-toe white outfits (the decemberists all wore white seersuckers). her hair was much longer than when i had seen the illinoisemakers last summer, which gave her a much more serious look. her set was disappointingly short--the all-ages crowd was there for the decemberists and not for worden, despite meloy's well-known love for workhorse as one of his favorite albums of 2006. they played the expected "golden star" and "magic rabbit," two of their best songs, and ended with an energized "freak out," really punky and spazzy. they also played led zeppelin's "no quarter," which, sadly, received the most applause because no one knew her other songs. such a shame. she's one of my favorite new artists, and i'd love to see her in her own right...i bet she'd kick serious ass.

i've posted "magic rabbit" below, from her daytrotter session...better than on workhorse and free free free. because it's recorded live, worden really lets her voice out, justifying the "operatic" tag that m.b.d.'s been given. go download the rest of the daytrotter set, then go buy bring me the workhorse. it's available from asthmatic kitty in both CD and LP versions.

the decemberists always try and include a little bit of over-dramatized ham in their shows, and this was no exception, featuring an at-least 20 foot tall backdrop of "twilight in the forbidden forest," the name of this tour (i wish i could've seen "rout of the patagons," though...it's a way cooler title). colin's girlfriend, the source of despair for indie ladies the world over, was responsible for it, and it didn't disappoint. and neither did they.

i'd wager few people were surprised when they opened with the ubiquitous "crane wife 3," given their wont to open shows with leadoff tracks (they used "the infanta" every other time i saw them) and that song's recent popularity (i.e., it was in scrubs). colin came onstage alone with his twelve-string and serenaded us until the rest of the decemberoos joined him for the climax. they went straight into "july, july!" (as always, a fan favorite), which got everyone warmed up and excited. "the soldiering life" was a bit of a wrench, throwing a lot of the young crowd off track (damn all-ages crowds), but pre-crane wife fans happily sang along. "the infanta" was satisfying, as usual, though "the bachelor and the bride" is too much like "soldiering" for my taste...i would've preferred a nice version of "youth and beauty brigade," to be honest.

for "yankee bayonet," colin invited shara worden back on stage to sing the pertinent parts, a far cry from laura veirs's studio backing vocals. worden fleshed out the song nicely, bringing it even greater depth and beauty. the decemberists offered a treat next, a song cut from the crane wife, called "culling of the fold." i had heard rumors of this track from no place in particular, a b-side merely because jenny had deemed it too violent for the album itself. after the show, i had the devil's own time finding a copy of it online, but, in the end, was successful, and i've posted it below for your pleasure. in his introduction, colin joked about jenny's sensitivity before launching into the first lyric: cut him up, boy / you gotta cut him up, boy. between pretending to hang himself with the mic cord and singing with a person in the front row who knew the song, colin pranced about on stage, unfettered by his guitar, and enjoying himself wholeheartedly.

after "culling," the 'rists returned to standard fare with "on the bus mall," followed by "the legionnaire's lament." the latter is one of my favorite decemberists songs, though i have heard it at every show of theirs i've seen. they followed with the expected "o valencia," keeping the energy level high after "lament," and segued right into "the island." i had been anticipating "the island;" i think it's probably the decemberists' most versatile work to date (not counting, of course, the tain), and i was excited to see them do it live. well, their performance put even my hopes to shame. after thrilling us all with the pirate melodies of "the landlord's daughter," everyone except colin put down their instruments and grouped together by jenny's piano, picking up different instruments for "you'll not feel the drowning." jenny moved to the harpsichord, john took piano, nate played cello, and mr. funk gently played the violin, bringing the set to an elegant and, really, a special end. except the set wasn't over yet. after acknowledging the well-deserved applause for the "drowning"'s rearrangement, the decemberists retook their positions and treated the audience to a great rendition of "when the war came." i was surprised (and glad) that "island" wasn't the end of the set...i didn't get a copy of the set list, so i can't say whether it was planned or impulsive, but the crowd had good energy the whole show, and they definitely responded to that.

i think we got a double encore (not coming on stage twice, but two songs) primarily because of the audience's enthusiasm. someone had been calling out for "eli the barrow boy" all night, and colin, jenny, and chris funk came on alone to satisfy this request. i don't think i'd seen "eli" before this show, and it was cool to see funk play the hurdy-gurdy. but "eli" isn't a favorite, and i was more excited for "the mariner's revenge song," the encore staple that it is. and what a great way to end the show it is. adding a new dimension to their impressive live repertoire, the decemberists decided to forgo funk's shark impersonation for, well, a real-er one.


all in all, the gig was great. it was even better seeing it with mi famiglia, and we got to hang out with the decemberists in the street after the show. we waited around to get some things signed and say hey and thanks for the show, and they all came out and we chatted with all of them in turn, which was probably the best part of the whole night. so many performers don't mingle after shows, so it was especially great that they did. i've posted the a video my sister shot of the decemberists singing "hang the dj," a little response to the avalon's penchant for scheduling dance parties while the main artist is still playing. my favorite part of the decemberists's live shows is their demeanor--they're so relaxed and comfortable, and willing to play and improvise and connect with their audience--it's a great atmosphere. i'm also posting my brightest diamond "magic rabbit" from her daytrotter session and the "culling of the fold" for your enjoyment. both bands rock and deserve your support, so go out and spend some money on them.




my brightest diamond - "magic rabbit"

the decemberists - "culling of the fold"

more gig pictures below: