A Free Rock Concert Preceded Obama’s Speech in Oregon

The media went nuts over Barack Obama drawing a crowd of 75,000 people in Portland:

• PORTLAND, Ore. - They waited for hours under a warm sun, the line snaking for blocks and blocks through downtown. They packed onto the park lawn, from the makeshift stage to the waterfront and up to the street. They watched from a bridge overhead and from pleasure boats on the river, bikini-clad.

  They brought their parents and their infants. Some skipped work. Some wilted in the heat. A few jammed the streets afterward, hoping for a final motorcade glimpse. Fire department officials counted 75,000 in all, a record for the main attraction, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). - Chicago Tribune

• At a rally today in sunny Portland, Barack Obama spoke to some 75,000 people, according to the campaign. The mammoth crowd stood on Waterfront Park in downtown Portland adjacent to the scenic Willamette River. People even came by boat and kayak to catch a glimpse of the likely Democratic nominee. - Fox News
• Barack Obama yesterday addressed his biggest political rally to date, a spectacular outdoor gathering on the banks of the river Willamette near Portland, Oregon.

  The Illinois senator smiled down on a sea of 75,000 faces on a fine, sunlit afternoon.

  “Wow! Wow! Wow!” were his first words as he surveyed the crowd, which included people in kayaks and small pleasure boats on the river on an unusually hot day. - Times Online

• An estimated 75,000 gathered on the banks of the Willamette River in Portland on Sunday to see Barack Obama.
  “Wow! Wow! Wow!” were his first words, as he surveyed the multitude, which included people in kayaks and small pleasure craft on the river. - New York Times
• Barack Obama held his biggest rally to date in here on Saturday. The Democratic frontrunner attracted a crowd of 75,000 according to Duane Bray, battalion chief with Portland Fire and Rescue. - Wall Street Journal

What wasn’t broadly reported was that local Portland Band “The Decemberists” gave a free concert prior to Barack’s appearance:

…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?

I imagine a lot of them were there for both. John Kerry drew a crowd of 50,000 in 2004, and that was without the rock-star status. He did have several celebrities there, though.

The Decemberists are a very popular band with the liberal 20-somethings, and can draw a crowd all by themselves. A couple of things about “The Decemberists” you should know. The name of the band “refers to an 1825 revolt over the Imperial Russian succession.” Also, they have a habit of starting their concerts by playing the national anthem of the U.S.S.R.:

In its entry on the Decemberists, Wikipedia further explains:

“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. The name Decembrist refers to an 1825 revolt over the Imperial Russian succession, and is not related to the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917.”

The Decemberists’ front man, Colin Meloy, did a musical endorsement of Obama on YouTube, which includes the lyrics:

/ldblquote…he will shatter the putrescence and complacency of the bourgeoisie…”

“The bourgeoisie” is a standard Marxist term used to describe the middle class.

As of now, it is unknown if the Soviet national anthem played before this concert, but does it really matter? Not to me. It’s common practice for them, and Barack was still fine with it.

Or did he not know about this either?