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Concert Fri Apr 20 2007
Decemberists hit Millennium Park
If you miss the Decemberists this time around (they perform tonight at the Riviera Theater, 8pm), don't worry. You'll have another chance to see them this summer. In a special concert celebrating Metro's 25th anniversary, the five-piece indie rock band hailing from Portland, Oregon performs alongside the Grant Park Orchestra in Millennium Park on July 18. Brand-new orchestral arrangements of The Decemberists' songs are to be arranged and conducted by Sean O'Loughlin, who has arranged music for Blue Man Group, Pink Martini and Christian McBride, among others.
Unusual pairings and eclectic instrumentation are nothing new for the Decemberists, who released their fourth full-length album, The Crane Wife, on 3 October 2006 (Capitol Records). Their music, compared to Neutral Milk Hotel and Belle and Sebastian, is best described as upbeat pop wrapped around passionate ballads. Lending its uniqueness to a lush musical arrangement (accordion, Hammond organ and upright bass included), their songs are infused by such diverse strains as the sea chantey, Irish jig and klezmer. Pastoral lyrics shaped around a folkloric, storytelling style paint wistful pictures of winter, love and other moods. The well-spun songs are the creative brainchild of singer/songwriter and frontman Colin Meloy, who was inspired to write Crane Wife by a Japanese folk tale he came across in the children's section of a Portland bookstore. The band, which named themselves after the Russian Decembrist Revolt and the feelings associated with December, includes Nate Query (bass), Jenny Conlee (keyboards and
accordion), Chris Funk (pedal steel guitar), and John Moen (drums).
The Decemberists perform with the Grant Park Orchestra, conducted by Sean O'Loughlin in the Jay Pritzker Pavilion at Millennium Park on July 18, at 6:30 pm. The concert is free and open to the public.