Review: 'Hazards of Love' Decemberists tribute

Portland folk-rock band the Decemberists are setting out on tour in January to support their upcoming album "The King is Dead." Sadly, the closest they'll come to Reno is a Feb. 14 date in Oakland.

But closer to home we do have a Decemberists tribute, with local artists pooling their efforts for "Hazards of Love - A Tribute to the Decemberists." I saw it on Nov. 12, and there are shows Nov. 18, 19, and 21 (a matinee) at the Great Escape.

It's an labor-of-love production by producer-director Jill Marlene of the Decemberists' fifth studio album, 2009's "The Hazards of Love."

That hourlong concept album tells a fanciful, fearsome tale of romance and danger, and the Reno production uses a live band and singers to faithfully perform the album in its entirety.

The music aims for recreation. A stage show also depicts the events in the story.

The live music is a rush, driving home the rawness and power of the album's score, especially during heavier moments where guitars crunch and the bass pounds. Tom Gordon's drums do an excellent job keeping everyone in line. 

The singing, however, is more of a mixed bag. The vocal performances are at times a fine impersonation of the very stylized and character-driven parts on the album. But often the attempts to match the original fall far short and drive home that this is an enthusiast production done by fans. These are hard notes to hit, and tryouts (or a more stringent process) would have helped. 

But the onstage narrative dance is fun throughout. The costumes for the flora are elaborate and the dancers do a fine job with their moves. Also, the somewhat confusing story is made much more clear by the visuals. The guy who plays the Rake looks impeccably rakish, but I wish he and the rest of the cast would all agree to lip-sync what their characters are singing or all refrain.

So, what we have here are more than two dozen people who are big fans of an epic album that's considered a modern cult classic by many. The music, vocals and moves are all raw and energetic, but the singing creates a slight sense of dread as each hard part comes to pass.

Playing actual Decemberists songs from other albums before, after and during intermission doesn't help the comparison.

The question, then, is whether or not it's worth $10. If you also enjoy the album, and won't find imperfect vocals too distracting, it's an interesting experience (with super creepy trees). With two performances under their belts, this weekend's shows might feature many changes, too.

But for the uninitiated, this probably isn't the best way to meet the Decemberists. 

For more about the show, read our feature story.