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Free Concert by Popular Band Preceded Obama’s Big Rally
NewsBusters ^ | May 20, 2008 | Robert Knight

Posted on 05/20/2008 4:34:15 PM PDT by vietvet67

From CNN to the New York Times, the media hyped Barack Obama's Portland, Oregon rally on Sunday, some comparing him to a rock star.

Unmentioned in national reporting was the fact that Obama was preceded by a rare, 45-minute free concert by actual rock stars The Decemberists. The Portland-based band has drawn rave reviews from Rolling Stone magazine, which gave their 2005 album Picaresque four and a half stars (out of five), and another four and a half stars for 2007's The Crane Wife.

How many of the people showed up to hear Obama, and how many to hear the band?

Here's how the local paper The Oregonian, which estimated the crowd at 72,000, reported the rally:

"Obama was the biggest star at Sunday's gathering -- though a popular Portland band, The Decemberists, provided the warmup act. With blue skies and temperatures in the 80s, many in the crowd said Waterfront Park was simply the place to be."

CNN headlined its 10 p.m. segment on May 18 with "Barack Obama: Achieving Rock Star Status in Oregon."

The New York Times, which ran a color photo of the crowd, estimated the throng at 75,000, noting that it was "the largest crowd of his campaign so far." There was no mention of The Decemberists, and the Times described the weather as "an unseasonably hot day."

Indie rock Web sites were abuzz with news of the impending concert, which was also announced on the Obama campaign's Web site.

Here's the report from the Indie rock Web site Pitchfork:

By land and by sea, they came to see the great man speak. An estimated 75,000 in all turned out to see presidential hopeful Barack Obama at Portland's Waterfront Park yesterday afternoon-- a record crowd for Obama's own campaign, according to The New York Times, and a record crowd for Oregon political events, according to The Oregonian. Just look at them all!

And hey, they got to see a pretty sweet opening act too. Calling themselves the Decemberists and led by lovably literate Steve Novick endorser Colin Meloy, this feisty fivepiece charmed the gathered for a good 45 minutes before Senator Obama took the stump. They even closed out with a sing-along entitled "Sons & Daughters", which had the masses joining the band to declare "Here all the bombs fade away..." Something tells me this Decemberists band is going places. Just like Senator Obama.

Here's how Pitchfork primed the pump for the concert/rally:

Indie rock's #1 candidate crush Barack Obama is sittin' quite a bit prettier than he was a few weeks ago when the Arcade Fire and Bruce Springsteen went to bat for him, but the dashing junior Senator hasn't quite clinched the Democratic party nomination yet. Next up on the primary agenda are Oregon and Kentucky, whose voters hit the polls Tuesday, May 20. Should Obama win a heaping majority of the delegates up for grabs that day, he'll be within inches of securing the hotly-contested nom.

And look who's arrived to give Obama the extra push he needs to get on the ballot in November. Why, it's none other than those kings and queens of the month after, the Decemberists!

There's nothing wrong with a candidate using celebrity power to draw a crowd, but the media have a responsibility to report their presence. By ignoring the free concert, the Times and other outlets made it appear that 75,000 people were drawn only by Sen. Obama's considerable charisma.

Photo illustration via Pitchfork.tv


TOPICS: News/Current Events; US: Oregon
KEYWORDS: decemberists; freeconcert; goebbelswouldbeproud; lovein; or2008; yellowjournalism
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To: vietvet67

15 years ago you might have said the same thing about Dave Matthews. 25 years ago you might have said the same thing about U2.

Sinatra hate the Beatles and Elvis too.


21 posted on 05/20/2008 5:09:11 PM PDT by weegee (We cant keep our homes on 72 at all times & just expect that other countries are going to say OK -BO)
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To: 537cant be wrong; Aeronaut; bassmaner; Bella_Bru; Big Guy and Rusty 99; Brian Allen; cgk; ...

Rock and Roll ping


22 posted on 05/20/2008 5:09:25 PM PDT by weegee (We cant keep our homes on 72 at all times & just expect that other countries are going to say OK -BO)
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To: vietvet67
. . ."an unseasonably hot day."

That's what happens when a collection of determinate liberals descends upon any locale. Things get hellish and hot. Had they stayed home the planet would have cooled a bit. Like December.

23 posted on 05/20/2008 5:09:55 PM PDT by Fester Chugabrew (Proud participant in "Operation Chaos")
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To: vietvet67
The Decemberists The Sporting Life
24 posted on 05/20/2008 5:14:37 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: Straight Vermonter

Decemberists=December Revolution


25 posted on 05/20/2008 5:17:59 PM PDT by Aut Pax Aut Bellum (I haven't voted "for"anybody since Ronald Reagan, just have voted against...)
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To: JOE6PAK

Even has soviet style wallpaper.

The band’s use of the National Anthem of the Soviet Union as an introduction at many concerts has sparked controversy as it is seen by some as an endorsement of the repressive Soviet system that not only banned western style rock music and other forms of personal expression, but is responsible for the Gulag system that imprisoned more than 18 mimllion Russians, and is responsible for the death of some 50 million citizens, making it one of the most deadly regimes in world history.


26 posted on 05/20/2008 5:18:21 PM PDT by ecomcon
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To: vietvet67

The Decemberists were heard to comment to their manager “I saw NO MORE PUPPET SHOWS!!!”


27 posted on 05/20/2008 5:19:13 PM PDT by weegee (We cant keep our homes on 72 at all times & just expect that other countries are going to say OK -BO)
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To: vietvet67

Obama is supposed to show up in St Petersburg tomorrow. The press is really pushing it, all the tkts are gone.

What a lot of people don’t know is that St. Petersburg has a large minority population.

The idiotic St Petersburg Times has a story about elephant herds in Africa for their front page headline (I guess nothing important was happening today)

Here is the page for the Tampa Tribune.

http://www.newseum.org/media/dfp/jpg20/lg/FL_TT.jpg

For all the people that can’t get tickets, I will save you the money.

Obama will come out. He will say:

Hope, Change, Hope, Change, Hope, Change. Not much else.

The MSM and some people will swoon. And nobody will be able to tell you anything concrete he’s talked about.


28 posted on 05/20/2008 5:22:02 PM PDT by I still care ("Remember... for it is the doom of men that they forget" - Merlin, from Excalibur)
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To: mylife

Forgive my off suject remark, but I was watching “House” last night on Fox, and in two of the scenes there was a sticker on the wall “Vote for Change, O—”. This man is being rammed down our throuts, and all the networks are in on it.


29 posted on 05/20/2008 5:24:41 PM PDT by gunner03 ("03" Mustang)
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To: vietvet67

I bought a Decemberists CD last year. I didn’t like it; I sold it back.


30 posted on 05/20/2008 5:27:45 PM PDT by GSWarrior (Posting trite comments since 2000)
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To: gunner03

Yup.


31 posted on 05/20/2008 5:28:51 PM PDT by mylife (The Roar Of The Masses Could Be Farts)
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To: vietvet67

Left that part out did they? Shocked, I am.


32 posted on 05/20/2008 5:29:14 PM PDT by Doohickey (SSN-681; SSN-671; SSN-669; SSN-712)
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To: KoRn

Seattle is known for its local bands. I don’t know about 70 thousand people showing up for this band but I bet almost half were fans of their music.


33 posted on 05/20/2008 5:30:18 PM PDT by peeps36 (Politician = Corrupt Degenerate Loser = Ted, Nancy, Barry, Jack and Many More)
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To: vietvet67; All
Why don't we seize the opportunity provided by the MSM's deification of Obama to permanently de-claw the IRS and get God back into the public school classrooms?

This post (<-click), while addressing taxes, helps to explain why government "leaders" like Obama are actually in contempt of the Constitution that they have sworn to defend, foolishly following in the footsteps of FDR's dirty federal spending politics.

In fact, the article referenced below shows that Obama is the #1 federal spending proposer in the Senate for '08; Clinton is #2.

Obama, a big-shot federal spender
And this post (<-click) exposes how corrupt justices then began using FDR's politically correct license to ignore the 10th A. to unlawfully stifle traditional family values, including the USSC's scandalous legalization of abortion in Roe v. Wade. Note that the post first references two non-abortion cases in order to show Roe v. Wade in a different, troubling perspective.

In fact, consider that the states have the constitutional power (10th A.) to authorize public schools to lead non-mandatory (14th A.) classroom discussions on the pros and cons of evolution, creationism and ID, as examples, regardless that atheists, separatists, pagan-minded judges and the MSM are misleading the people to think that doing such things in public schools is unconstitutional.

The people need to reconnect with the Founder's division of federal and state government powers. The people then need to wise up to the major problems that, since the days of FDR's dirty politics, Congress has not only not been operating with the restraints of the federal Constitution, particularly where constitutionally unauthorized federal spending is concerned, but the USSC has wrongly been ignoring the 10th A. protected power of the states to address religious issues.

The bottom line is that the people need to get in the faces of judges, demanding that judges uphold their oaths to defend the 10th A. protected powers of the states to address religious issues - or get off the bench. The people also need to send big-shot, Constitution-ignoring federal spenders like Obama home as opposed to trying to send people like him to the Oval Office. The people need to get in the faces of members of Congress, demanding a stop to constitutionally unauthorized federal spending while appropriately lowering federal taxes - or get out of DC.

Lincoln put it this way.

"We the People are the rightful master of both congress and the courts - not to overthrow the Constitution, but to overthrow the men who pervert the Constitution." --Abraham Lincoln, Political debates between Lincoln and Douglas, 1858.

34 posted on 05/20/2008 5:30:26 PM PDT by Amendment10
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To: GSWarrior

My bad...the CD I bought was by Okerville River or something like that.


35 posted on 05/20/2008 5:31:48 PM PDT by GSWarrior (Posting trite comments since 2000)
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To: I still care

Obama, St. Petersberg, Decemberists. Is he trying to tell us something, like, Obamie the Commie?

Coming to the national scene, May 22nd. Trust me!


36 posted on 05/20/2008 5:33:31 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper
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To: dawn53
Portland is their hometown. I know their show in Orlando was sold out (had a nephew that tried to get tickets.)

LOL, yea but sold out where? I see on their website they are playing the Les Schwab Ampitheater in OR. That's a home state show. They are the opening act for Death Cab for Cutie (from Seattle) .The place holds 9000 ppl, ok? A 9000 seat venue in Oregon. They aren't even the headliner. And tix are still available.

So that settles that. The Decembrists can't pull 10000 people, let alone 70K. That was an OBama crowd. Why argue it? You ever been to Portland? Commie central.

37 posted on 05/20/2008 5:39:54 PM PDT by Huck ("Real" conservatives support OBAMA in 08 (that's how you know Im not a real conservative))
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To: gunner03

Hey ! I saw that Shi& too, and where was it(?), in the bathroom!Its were all liberal intellect issues from. THE TOILET BOWL.


38 posted on 05/20/2008 5:43:31 PM PDT by redstateconfidential (If you are the smartest person in the room,you are hanging out with the wrong people.)
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To: Huck
You ever been to Portland? Commie central.

You got that right! What more can you say about a city whose motto is "Keep Portland Weird". It's also referred to as "Moscow on the Willamette".

A lot of people who have moved out here to the Oregon Coast from Portland hate to have to go anywhere near there, and it breaks their hearts to see their once beautiful city turn into a mecca for the bizarros.

39 posted on 05/20/2008 5:47:28 PM PDT by Inspectorette
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To: KoRn

They are actually a fantastic band (imo). I’m disappointed, yet not surprised, they support the socialist. Most artists are pretty removed from reality.


40 posted on 05/20/2008 5:48:59 PM PDT by Tigercap (McCain. For Supreme Court judge nominations and WOT progress if nothing else.)
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