May 05, 2008
Colin Meloy
NY2LON Live Reviewby Lauren from San Francisco
Colin Meloy, you are a gentleman and a scholar. Seriously. Who else could write a cautionary song about prostitute mothers and have it be so amazing?
I was running pretty late, and I was tempted to skip the Colin Meloy solo show at the Fillmore that my friend had gifted me his tickets to. But I persevered, and got to venue only a few songs into his set. It's really weird to think of one guy getting a huge tour bus, but it seems pretty appropriate for a man with such an obvious talent. Everything about him is wonderful, according to my show companion, "He's so good. He's over thirty, esoteric, and wears glasses and stripes." This thought would repeat in my head as I watched the hour long set of Decemberists and solo material. Also, every time he drank a sip of wine, she would squeal...something about older men and wine must be appealing.
For every solo jaunt, Meloy puts out an EP of covers by a specific artist. First Morrisey, then Shirley Collins, and now the wonderful Sam Cooke â the cover of "Cupid" can't quite capture the power of the original, but Colin Meloy is a white guy from middle America who was born in the 70s, and did amazingly well making an EP of these songs that I could listen to over and over. Colin sang many songs about San Francisco, much to our delight, including "Grace Cathedral Hill," and "O Valencia."
Meloy is a mix a musician and an actor, this is especially true when he is by himself, wearing no outfit, just jeans and a collared shirt. He still makes the story songs come alive, and even lets the audience in on Decemberists secrets: like how bassist Nate Query has a mic in front of him only for one specific yell - the captains wail in "Mariner's Revenge." He also encouraged audience sing alongs, reminiscent to a school teacher, and regularly talked to the characters in the front row (they even got a few laughs out of him). It had been a few years since I've seen Meloy in any form, and this was a splendid reminder that he is probably a genius, but not the creepy kind, the kind that gets along with people.
Colin Meloy's Myspace
The Decemberists' Myspace
The Decemberists' Website
Posted by ny2lon at May 5, 2008 12:55 PM
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