I just lost my stain of thought

I don’t know if they call each individual band member a Decemberist, but it makes sense to me. Katlyn and I ventured out to Hollywood Tuesday because she won a contest for tickets to a show featuring Colin Meloy, lead singer of The Decemberists. I had never listened to any of his stuff, let alone anything from the band, but I dug what I heard.

I drove what was probably the farthest I have ever driven without parental or instructor accompaniment and it was pretty scary. We made it to the Kodak theater parking lot in one piece, only to find out that the Henry Fonda theater was nowhere nearby. We walked many blocks, with the street seeming to alternate between shady and a little less shady. In a more well-lit area, we were handed two cans of Jolt Cola each, which had a funny, bitter aftertaste. I didn’t really feel any effect from the soda, so meh. As we neared the theater, we passed by this cafe or restaurant or something that had a group of people sitting outside. All of a sudden, this older gentleman pointed at Katlyn and yelled, “Hey, I love you!” She responded by giving him a can of soda. Do I hear wedding bells? One lady that was with him commented on how she hadn’t seen Jolt in years and how she used to drink it way back when. Eager to rid myself of my extra can that would otherwise be discarded at the venue, I offered it to her but this other guy sitting behind her took it. The presumably drunken older guy pursuing the love of his life asked Katlyn, “Where are you going?” and when we responded that we were off to a show, he asked why we had to act like we had lives or something. After this quick break in our stride, we continued on to the show.

Having tickets at will call, we didn’t have to wait in line or get patted down like regular folks. I felt kind of bad for them because the patting seemed violating. What was sad, though, was that they took away the gum we had purchased earlier at Sanrio in order to validate our parking. Tear. Even though we arrived half an hour late, we were actually still early, since the opening act still hadn’t come out and hadn’t even set up yet. I spent this waiting period being amazed at the smallness but cuteness of the Henry Fonda/Music Box theater and the fact that it reminded me of the theater in The Muppet Show. I kept picturing the two old grumpy guys watching from the side. While we were waiting, this cute guy started talking to Katlyn. That girl always seems to bring all the boys to the yard.

Opening for Colin was Laura Gibson, who is a very softspoken but subtly funny person. Her music was on the slow side and pretty folksy, but I thought she had a really nice, jazzy voice; sometimes so nice that it made me zone out a little, but I liked it. I really wanted to sit down but not because I was bored or anything; I just thought it would have been better enjoyed if I didn’t have to stand, since I wasn’t really doing anything but bobbing my head occasionally. It wasn’t stuff you would or could really dance to, but I found it to be like cool lounge music or something you might hear in a movie scene where a character is reflecting on a tough decision or dramatic moment that occurred in the previous scene and either slowly walking around alone or sitting by a window staring outwards into the rain. Listen to her stuff on her MySpace and you will see what I mean. I would definitely classify her as easy listening, not that that’s a bad thing. I love easy listening. It’s so easy to listen to. Har har.

After her set, Colin’s guitar tuner guy came out, which I thought was pretty cool. You’ve got to be pretty awesome if you have your own guitar tuner, but it might’ve also been because he had several guitars out on the stage and tuning them himself would’ve caused the crowd to feel cheated of their time with him. Already setting the tone for the night, Colin Meloy came out with a glass of red wine, bringing about an air of ease and laidbackness. Even if his songs weren’t great, I would’ve loved watching him anyway. He was adding in random thoughts and commentary about his songs all night and was just a really funny guy. Luckily, his music was pretty good, so that was a bonus. I liked the show because he would talk to the crowd and get them involved, rather than just perform, making it really personal. Occasionally he messed up the words to his own songs, so it seemed as though he was kind of there to just hang out and play some music for us. Laura Gibson sang backup for one of his songs, which was really cool; she’s really good at harmonizing. The music itself seemed to tell tales from yore. That was kind of a weird description, but really, his songs are like storytelling with music, pretty much. The music is sort of dark but still fun to listen to. I occasionally thought of Mo Rocca from VH1/MTV when watching him because he sort of looked and sounded like him. I thought he was really awesome on guitar because there was only one of him playing, yet it sometimes sounded like more, because you could hear a melody amongst the strumming. I guess I don’t notice usually if people do this or not, so don’t call me lame for thinking it’s so cool. His voice is kind of distinct and sharp and he sings a lot of notes that could easily be sung out of tune, but he was so on top of that. On top of all that, his facial expressions made it all the funner to watch.

I also drove back to our apartment in one piece, so all in all, it was a fun and successful night.