“We apologize for ruining indie rock,” Colin Meloy announced as the band took the stage last night at House of Blues Boston. They were referring, of course, to a recent article in The Phoenix, which blamed The Decemberists as the destroyers of all that was good and perfect in the land of indie-ness. The crowd hooted and hollered their approval, not of Luke O’Neil’s rant against this quietly brilliant band of Portlanders, but of Mr. Meloy’s playful indifference to the negativity of the critic. And why should he care? Meloy and Co. have the #1 album on the Billboard 200 and were playing the second of two sold out shows at Boston’s House of Blues. So, while Mr. Meloy’s stomach flu may have cut the concert short and removed a bit of the intensity of his performance, it in no way challenged these guys’ status as the kings of indie rock. Continue reading
