The Decemberists – A Short Fazed Hovel Tour
Overture Hall
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I used to believe that if someone simply listened to the music I liked with an open mind they would like it also… I still hold onto that belief a little bit. But now I understand that some people simply prefer chocolate and others vanilla. And that’s okay. The Decemberists seem to be one of those bands that you either enjoy or not. There isn’t really much middle ground. Me? I love them.
The Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query, and John Moen released their fifth album in March – The Hazards of Love. And it’s a full-length song cycle rooted in ancient language and imagery.
The album began when Meloy—long fascinated by the British folk revival of the 1960s— found a copy of Anne Briggs’s 1966 EP, titled The Hazards of Love. Since there was actually no song with the album’s title, he set out to write one. It turned into something much larger than just a new composition. Meloy has this to say about the album:
“There’s an odd bond between the music of the British folk revival and classic metal. A natural connection between, like, Fairport Convention and Black Sabbath—of course, Sandy Denny from Fairport even sang with Led Zeppelin on ‘The Battle of Evermore.’ I think there’s a shared sense of narrative and ambience, of moving beyond the first person in your writing. And I thought it would be interesting to mess around with that.”
…Mess around indeed!
A number of guests artists are featured on the album, giving it a more theatrical feel. Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden deliver the lead vocals for the female characters, while My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Robyn Hitchcock, and the Spinanes’ Rebecca Gates appear in supporting roles.
While the album’s language is intricate and often archaic, Decemberists fans very much anticipate and appreciate this literate approach. Previous releases (like 2003’s Her Majesty the Decemberists or 2005’s Picaresque) included fantastic songs full of colorful characters and narratives. In fact, NPR listeners voted the group’s 2006 release – The Crane Wife – “album of the year”.
The Decemberists are currently making A Short Fazed Hovel Tour and playing The Hazards of Love straight through for the show’s first half and older material for the remainder. “It’s intended to be performed all in one piece, but it’s not meant to be acted out,” says Meloy.
The tour will stop in Madison on August 5th. Check it out in the beautiful acoustics of Overture Hall, and find out why the Decemberists are one of the most innovative bands in music today.
Doors open at 6:30p and The Heartless Bastards open at 7:30pm. I’ve heard great things about them and look forward to seeing them also.
Cheers,
Mister Bill
