The Decemberists are kicking off another national tour starting tonight with two nights in a row at Loew’s Theater in Jersey City. Quite unlike them not to play a kickoff show here in Portland. This doesn’t surprise me one bit though. Before their first Capitol Records release, they were certainly a favorite here in town. However, with the increasing glossy, made-for-the-radio sound that began to unfurl in their last Kill Rock Starts release, Picaresque and their major label debut The Crane Wife, they have lost a large portion of their fans here, and an even larger portion of their respect. While Portland seems to wholly embrace all that is local, original, and independent, it takes just one release that sounds like its a move towards writing for mass consumption to fall out of favor. Perhaps that is the reason behind The Decemberists move to entirely skip Portland on this tour. Sure, they are playing Edgefield Winery, which is tactfully billed as being a Portland show. Edgefield Winery is not in, or really all that near Portland. Nearly an hours drive. Way to stick it to your old pals, Decemberists. Stick to places where you can earn the love of your rock radio listeners, advertisers, and corporate sponsors, and absolutely, by all means, stay the hell away from anywhere that might earn you some respect from the people who sent you from basement shows to billboards. You’ll be playing the House of Blues in no time.