Decemberists About to Break HUGE!

I didn't mention anything about this on Sunday because I thought it was pretty well covered, but if you missed it, a crowd of 75,000 came out in Portland, Oregon, on Sunday to hear Obama speak. The New York Times had the story and a photo, and Ben Smith had a different photo. Pretty major stuff for a politician.

It turns out, though, that all those people weren't there to see Obama at all. It was just a big coincidence, because before Obama took the stage, his support act was the Decemberists! According to NewsBusters (via Atrios, here and here), they're huge rock stars. Rolling Stone said so! Unfortunately, although they may be major rock stars, the Decemberists aren't necessarily the best businesspeople around. Or, at least their promoters aren't. When they were in Chicago last, they played the Vic, which only holds about 1,400, for two nights. They should've been playing it for 50! Or the United Center for three!

Another odd twist to the situation is that Barack Obama may not even know who the Decemberists are. On his Website, he doesn't even announce that the Decemberists will be there. He just lists "Special Guest Performance by: Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen." Maybe he doesn't even know they're a group! Or maybe, the Decemberists have become such massive rock stars that the individual members have become household names! I knew I've been overwhelmed while on my deadline, but I had no idea. On a sad note, of course, Chicago will probably never have a chance to see the Decemberists in any venue smaller than Soldier Field. Ah, well. You deserve it, guys!

And if you're interested, you can get a pick of the candidate and the band at the Decemberists' Website. But you'll have to remind me--which ones are the rock stars?