Los Angeles, I'm yours...

Have you ever wondered what would happen if the White Stripes had collaborated with The Decemberists on “The Crane Wife?”

Neither had I, but if I ever had wondered, I got my answer last night. That answer is The Decemberists’ latest album “The Hazards of Love.”

When I initially saw that The Decemberists were playing The Palladium in Hollywood, I didn’t give much thought to buying tickets. I enjoyed “The Crane Wife” quite a bit – it’s still one of my favorite albums to listen to when I’m unwinding after a long day at work. But that’s exactly the problem – it’s relaxation music. And after a long day at work, I didn’t care to stand at The Palladium while being serenaded with lullabies. I'm bipedal and it’s kind of hard to stand and sleep!

Then came this past Monday. I was at the intersection of Vermont and Wilshire when the first notes of “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid” began playing on Morning Become Eclectic. It sounded like what I consider a typical Decemberists song to sound like. I began picturing people in period hoop skirts in plantation houses with oil lamps – and then that guitar started. That guitar, people. Holy moly. I was caught completely by surprise. And just like that, I started to regret not looking for tickets.

I completely lucked out yesterday, though. KCRW was giving away tickets and I happened to win a pair. Truthfully, I was mainly calling for the Other Lives album – I figured the tickets would have been given away by the time I finally got through on the phone. Nope! I won a pair of tickets to the show and that Other Lives CD. Autographed, no less!

Other Lives was amazing and a perfect complement for The Decemberists. In fact, they might be my new favorite band of the moment. I’m a sucker for a band with a cello – I can’t help it. Starbucks gave away free iTunes downloads of their “Black Tables” single a month or so ago and it immediately hooked me. (It was even more gorgeous live -- true facts!) One of my favorite “Tweets” during intermission was that Other Lives had just sold 4,000 albums. Again with true facts. Had I not won a copy earlier in the day, I’d have bought it myself.

(Side note: I was very amused to learn that they’re from Stillwater, Okla., especially considering my deep affection for that other band from Stillwater, Okla.)

Having not yet heard “The Hazards of Love” (aside from the occasional song on KCRW), I was still expecting a mellow show from The Decemberists. I was wrong. Wrong wrong wrong. I wish I had video capability on my phone because, let me tell you, a mass of head-banging hipsters is quite a sight to behold. It was obvious that, unlike me, most of the crowd knew what was coming. What I later learned is that the entire first half of the show was “The Hazards of Love” in its entirety – with no break. That’s 58 minutes and 37 seconds of music with not one moment of silence. In fact, the band didn’t even introduce themselves until the second half of their set.

The entire set was awesome, but you guys. YOU GUYS. “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid.” As fantastic and opinion-changing as it was on the radio that morning in K-Town, multiply that by 47. Y’all know I’m not a big fan of cussin’, but holy shit. Shara Worden hit all of her notes and she was jumping up and down and dancing and did I mention that she hit all of her notes? Mind? BLOWN. Head? Banging.

After the band wrapped up the album portion, they said they were going to take a break and come back for some more music. I figured it was going to be a typical encore of one or two songs. I need to quit assuming things. Once they returned, they played for a whole HOUR more with their older stuff – “Los Angeles, I’m Yours,” “July, July,” “O Valencia” and “Yankee Bayonet” just to name a few. And then they did an actual encore after that!

One of the last images of the show was a band member playing the bass – not the bass guitar, the actual bass – while lying on his back, Hendrix-style. That should tell you something. It was such a great show that I dropped $30 on the concert poster to commemorate. Actually, I would venture to say that it’s among my top five concerts of all time. Between the two bands, that was almost three full hours of live music. If they come to your city or even near your city, I highly recommend checking them out.

If you’re interested, you can check out the live sets that both bands did on Morning Becomes Eclectic: The Decemberists and Other Lives. And because this single was given away for free by Starbucks to promote the album, I don’t feel bad about posting it here: “Black Tables” by Other Lives. Now go buy the album so I don't look like too much of a pirate. Arrrrr!