The Decemberists, July 15, Mann Center

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The Decemberists, July 15, Mann Center

POSTED: Thursday, July 19, 2007, 12:24 AM

Filed Under: Music Show

Photo: Daniel Koh | More Photos

You can be snide all you want about rock bands hiring orchestras to back them for certain albums/tours — Tom Scharpling says it stems from a vain desire to prove "songs" are really "compositions" — but The Decemberists sounded comfortable playing with the Mann Festival Orchestra. The ad hoc ensemble, about 40 off-season players from various local symphonies, ably replaced the band's usual violinist with boisterous wave of high-strung echoes. "O Valencia!" was a Broadway anthem, and the "Crane Wife" songs were like sweeping, eclectic movie scores. The highlight might have been the recreation of the band's Tain EP, a bizarre Irish fable done up with great crashes and symphonic bombast. After doing away with their classically trained collaborators, The Decemberists returned to play a couple low-key, dreary numbers — one of them talking much of burying babies — and that was it. Colin Melloy and co. certainly hadn't overstayed their welcome, but one final rock number, perhaps "July, July," would have sealed the deal.

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