I was notified a week before this show that I had a mandatory meeting here in College Station the night of the concert. Having bought my ticket two months before, I was a little bummed out about this and was trying to see if I'd be able to get to Ft. Worth before the Decemberists took the stage. Deciding it couldn't be done, I was beginning to think I'd have to miss it, but there were other forces at work. As Hurricane Rita approached, rumors of classes being canceled and football games being moved began circulating. If the football game were to be moved to Thursday night, my meeting would have to be postponed. Luckily for me and my concert-attending intentions, that's what happened. On Thursday, I went to my first class and was expecting to go to my second, when I found out it had been canceled as well. I went home and decided that I had better leave pretty soon because of the extra traffic caused by the hurricane evacuations.

After about 30 minutes, I had gone less than 10 miles, and the thought of turning back crossed my mind ever so slightly. But I pressed on and continued at a snail's pace for a few hours more, when traffic finally started clearing off. By taking some shortcuts, I was able to get to Ft. Worth in just over six hours, twice the time it should usually take but not as long as I thought it might. I grab something to eat and join the few other people lined up outside the venue.

Soon, we are let in and Sons and Daughters take the stage. This Glasgow band plays music with a sound somewhere between folk and punk. An interesting match for the Decemberists. They were entertaining for the first few songs, but I was eager for the Decemberists to take the stage after that.

When it was finally their time, guitarist Chris Funk and drummer John Moen entered first clanking on some worn out cymbals in the darkness. They were soon joined by their bandmates, and together, they launched into California One/Youth and Beauty Brigade. A surprising choice for an opening song, but a good sign for the rest of the night. It's my second favorite Decemberists song, and they hadn't played it at any of the other shows I've been to. Singles Billy Liar and 16 Military Wives were next. The Picaresque-heavy section of the show continued with the next few songs as Engine Driver, On the Bus Mall, We Both Go Down Together, and Eli, The Barrow Boy were played. Before the last song, most of the band left stage, leaving Colin Meloy, Petra Haden, and Chris Funk to perform the song. After that, Chris and Petra left, and Colin asked the crowd what they wanted to hear. Numerous requests were shouted out, and Colin settled on My Mother Was a Trapeze Artist from their debut EP. The band joined him back on stage for the Sporting Life. Song For Myla Goldberg and Odalisque were next, allowing me to cross another two songs off my list of songs I hadn't seen live.