CGI Roadtrips and Colin Meloy

I travelled back to the TIFF with some friends to see the gala, North American preimere of "The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasuss." Tom Waits, Lily Cole, Andrew Garfield and Christopher Plummer (the sexiest octogenarian out there) were sitting the level below us at Roy Thompson Hall!

The movie was phenomenal and probably one of the best I have ever seen. It was so impressive, I will avoid spoilers and just urge you to see it when it arrives in theaters this holiday season. "Dr. Parnassus" is Heath Ledger's last movie and he died during the filming. The filmmakers, in addition to a number of Ledger's friends, continued the movie in startling fashion as a tribute to him. They do him justice.

"Dr. Parnassus" is the story of an immortal man, Plummer as Parnasuss, who has sold his soul to the devil (Waits). The conflict is that he has wagered his daughter (Cole). Ledger's character is there to help. The plot is great and compelling - but it's the visuals that make the movie. Vivid colors swirl, giant imaginary shoes rest on lily pads, glass shatters as Cole runs through oblivion.

The next night, I went to NYC to see a one-time-only Decemberists show at Terminal 5. The idea: List the entire Decemberists catalogue on giant ping pong balls, put them all in a bingo ball picker thing (does that have an actual name?) and choose them at random, surprising the band and the audience.

I'll be the first to admit it - as much as I love the Decemberists, I'm not a hard core fan. I have over 100 songs by Bright Eyes or Conor Oberst and only 40 by Colin Meloy and his crew. However, "The Crane Wife" and I have had many a road trip together and I dutifully bought "The Hazards of Love" the week it came out. I have "Picaresque" and a few other single songs, but truly, not an entire catalogue. That's one of the reasons I was looking forward to the show. I might learn some new tracks to pin point, get a new favorite besides "Crane Wife 3," "We Both Go Down Together" and "The Engine Driver." Sadly, they didn't play "The Engine Driver!"

The other reason I was looking forward to their innovative approach to the live show was...well..."Hazards of Love." I get it. It's a concept album. It needs to be played end to end, really - and that's what the Decemberists are doing on their tour, currently.

Except this show. Thankfully.

I could hardly believe the number of instruments the band played, much less how often they switched with each other: organ, accordion, steel pedal guitar, and some sort of keyboard that has a tube attached that the player blows into. Musically, they played better than they do on the record. Vocally, Colin Meloy sounds like he's at the top of his game - except for the very top notes.

Some of the set: "Yankee Bayonet," "Crane Wife 3," "The Rake's Song," and some awesome covers.