I like that The Decemberists now have to tell their crowds ahead of time whether they'll be performing a "regular" show or a "Hazards of Love" show. That's what a concept album will do to you. I agree with the critics that the album isn't all that great front-to-back. Give me Operation Mindcrime any day of the week over this album. But, like most Decemberists effort, even if I don't particularly like a certain song or album, I can at least appreciate the effort, and know that they do so with a mixture of sincere artistry, humility and fun. I've written about Decemberists before, so I won't extol again here my love-hate relationship with the band. Instead, I'll talk about this Lolla show. They simply rushed through the Hazards of Love front-to-back, and as everybody expected, the guest female vocals stole the show. Much ink has been spilled about the Diamond gals on this album, so I won't go into it here. It was a solid effort, if rushed, and broke no real new ground. As part of a weekend festival, it worked, but as a stand alone show, I wouldn't have been real happy. B
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