CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE DECEMBERISTS SHOW HERE.

There was a very, very long line outside the Metro Theatre on a chilly Tuesday night. From well-dressed scenesters to aging hipsters in Grizzly Bear shirts, the oddball parade stretched right up to the Asian restaurants near the end of the laneway. Near the end, a bespectacled teen with multi-coloured hair mumbled to her Cure-loving friend in amazement. “Wow,” she said. “And I honestly thought I was the only one who liked The Decemberists!”

Incorrect, m’lady. The Oregon five-piece, in the first of their two Big Day Out sideshows in Sydney, had packed the Metro practically to its capacity, for an exceptionally joyous evening of interactive sing-alongs and eccentric fun.

First up were the lovely (mostly) ladies of Bridezilla. One thing you’ll learn about watching this band perform is that regardless of what you think about the music, they’re very easy on the eye, softening the blow of what can be a lacklustre performance. Vocalist Holiday Sidewinder continued her shivering, little-girl-lost charade up front as the band tightly but unadventurously worked their way through a set mostly borrowed from their debut, The First Dance.

Sidewinder’s voice has improved ten-fold, despite its airy fragility occasionally being lost in the mix. Regardless, there’s still a lot of work to be done on their live performance – their experience as performers does not belie their age whatsoever. They remain awkward and distant, with only violinist Daisy Tulley showing any signs of life and passion for the music. Looking amongst themselves for both direction and reassurance is also a common occurrence.

The completely awkward ending of the performance, with not even a notice from the performers that this would be their last song, didn’t particularly help their case much further. Turn those frowns upside down, Bridezilla. The potential to improve is very much present; it is just high time to make do with it.

With no such confidence issues, meanwhile, is Colin Meloy. The Decemberists frontman was in fine form throughout his quintet’s performance. There was ne’er a moment when he wasn’t engaging his packed-in audience. His repertoire, songs aside, included a few wry weather jokes, humorous crowd participation moments – The Chimbly Sweep saw every punter crouching down on the ground as the rest of the band fell to the stage floor – and more energy in his right foot than Bridezilla had in their whole bodies.

It was a night full of surprises – first and foremost that this was not going to be the hotly-rumoured show of their latest record The Hazards of Love in full. As a matter of fact, only one song from that record was even played: the terrific Rake’s Song, which saw keyboardist Jenny Conlee and the multi-talented Chris Funk take to the floor toms in perfect precision.

This was a collection of tracks spanning the group’s entire discography – in a way, one would assume, a medium to apologise for taking so long to finally tour Australia. From the rousing July! July! to the big-finish Sons and Daughters, we were treated to a full array of the band’s work that pleased fans both past and present.

Another surprise came in the form of a brand new song. The band look to record again later this year, and the new track definitely showed potential with some nice harmonies and an upbeat rhythm. Their cover of The Go-Betweens’ Bye Bye Pride also served as a very nice touch, despite Meloy occasionally fumbling the words and only one person within the vicinity of the front dancefloor actually knowing the song (naming no names, but he’s writing this paragraph). No matter what was going on, there was invariably a sea of adoring faces shining back at Meloy and co.

It was extremely difficult to be disappointed by The Decemberists’ performance. With something for everyone on offer, he five impeccable musicians put on a show with energy, charm and open-arms accessibility. Surely they’ve gotten the hint that we would like them to visit a little more frequently. To all southern-cross-tattoo shirtless types: this Big Day Out, forget the Hilltop Hoods for once and go get yourself an indie-rock education.