O it's in your head on this sea-drift sun

It will come as no surprise if I say that The Decemberists were awesome last night. As I said yesterday, I went to "The Long of It" show, and since it was the first night of the tour, the band was in a very playful mood. Colin said at the start of the show, "We're not sure if this little experiment will work or not. Let's see."

The thing about a show full of long epics is that there is very little down time. Colin himself said that he feels like he has no time for banter. But they did make the most of the intersong moments.

Very importantly, I was in the front row, right up against the stage. (My friends Jill and Chris were in town for the show, and they always go to Decemberists shows very early, so I joined them in line.) The Vic Theatre is a small venue, so the band was right there. Several times, Colin leaned right over us so we had to look straight up to see his face. It was rather intimate.

And just so you get an understanding of the stamina of the band last night, they started with "The Crane Wife" (Parts 1, 2, and 3) and led right into "The Island," all without stopping. They followed with an excellent rendition of "The Bagman's Gambit," and then "California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade," which I have never seen them play before. It was very lovely.

"The Tain" was massive and stirring of course, and then I got happy with "I Was Meant for the Stage." The end of this song was extraordinary, as the cacophonous jumble that ends the tune climaxed in the band members rolling around on the stage and pounding on double basses and guitars.

The encore was most interesting . . . They came back out and broke in to an 18-minute rendition of "Echoes" by Pink Floyd, complete wah-wah guitars and peddle effects and solos and riffs. It was very impressive. And then they closed with an extra-humorous performance of "Mariner's Revenge Song," which I never tire of seeing.

And after the show I met Colin Meloy, and he was very nice and gracious. I was tempted to go to "The Short of It" tonight, but I cannot do it. Damn work.