Portland based indie-rock outfit, The Decemberists performed at The Anthem in Washington, DC on Saturday evening for what would be their first area appearance in a number of years.
On tour to promote their newest and eighth studio album, I’ll Be Your Girl, The Decemberists came charged and ready to mix both their beloved classics with some newly spun yarns. While boisterously offering an occasional political rant in between songs, frontman Colin Meloy seemed to really enjoy talking politics—and bathroom stalls (a DC joke)—while in the nation’s capitol, and it all fell on eager ears.
Apparently, the 2016 presidential election affected chief songwriter Meloy so profoundly that in his view, the band’s new album is a representation of our nation’s dour political climate. For Meloy, the album is an attempt to cope with not just his, but the general sadness and despair at large since Donald Trump’s election. His view couldn’t be more apparent than with the record’s seventh track, “Everything Is Awful” which became a sort of sing-a-long mid way through the show. Personally, I wish they’d stick to tales of obscure historical events, but folk music is often about speaking truth—and Meloy is doing his fair share.
The band’s new offering, I’ll Be Your Girl was released in March of this year on both Capitol Records and the Rough Trade label. The album’s first single, the synth heavy ”Severed,” preceded the LP’s release in mid-January. Months later the second and more stylistically familiar single, “Once in My Life” followed. The album is available as a standard 12” vinyl LP and in a limited edition orange vinyl version limited to 2,000 pressings. The Decemberists will continue to tour the US through August, then hit the road in Europe starting in November 2018.
Tennis, the Denver-based husband and wife duo of Alaina Moore and Patrick Riley, served as the night’s opener. Tennis is one fun band to watch—their pop sensibilities and retro feel energize the pair, especially in full band mode for Saturday’s show. Spirits were raised and I was sorry to see them leave the stage.
Tennis is touring to promote their 2017 release Yours Conditionally, their fourth studio album, which is available on opaque white vinyl.
THE DECEMBERISTS
TENNIS
