Decembrists Hit the Orpheum, in November

Does signing to a major label change everything? Many longtime fans of the Portland, Oregon-based band The Decemberists wondered if the group's decision to sign with Capitol Records to release their fourth full-length album would serve to tone down everything that drew indie fans to them in the first place: the quirky lyrics, the range of song subject matter (from prostitutes to mariners), and the group's unabashed fondness for obscure literary and historical allusions. The critically-praised album, The Crane Wife, dispelled the notion that this might be a sell-out effort: it is, as lead singer Colin Meloy noted into a recent Boston Globe interview, just the Decemberists with "a bigger budget."

Last night's performance at the Orpheum Theatre also proved that the Decemberists could, for the most part, translate a big-budget album to a bigger stage. The band gained a fan base playing in tiny venues like the Upstairs at the Middle East---this time around, the five-member group (plus violinist and backup vocalist Lisa Molinaro) had room to spread out on the sprawling stage and project their music to a sold-out crowd of nearly 3,000.

The set list was heavy on new material: nearly every track from The Crane Wife was played throughout the night, from the morose title track ("The Crane Wife 3"--- background here) to the grisly "Shankill Butchers" to the rousing "O Valencia!," a surprisingly upbeat song about star-crossed lovers. But the new album's lush instrumentation and layered melodies didn't always work on such a large stage. You occasionally got the feeling that Meloy and his bandmates, who were physically far apart from one another, were swallowed up by all that space, especially during the slower, longer tracks.

The band was at its best when it reprised some older favorites from previous albums like Picaresque and Castaways and Cutouts. One highlight was a raucous three-song stretch including "July, July!", "Here I Dreamt I Was An Architect," and the increasingly relevant antiwar song "Sixteen Military Wives." With only a few days left until the midterm elections, Meloy couldn't resist ending the show with a heartfelt rendition of a Crane Wife iTunes bonus track, "After the Bombs." "You know what Tuesday is, right?" he asked the audience, before inviting them to join in with the chorus: "hear all the bombs fade away/ hear all the bombs fade away."

During the inevitable encore, though, the band seemed determined not to let the night end on such a down note. Meloy interrupted crowd-favorite "A Cautionary Song" to stage an impromptu reenactment of the Boston Massacre, complete with audience participation. Fans walked away from the show well-assured that not even a major label deal could blunt the Decemberists' bizarre and endearing sense of humor.

Post contributed by Adrienne Aldredge