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The Decemberists, Live In Concert: Sasquatch 2011

By Stephen Thompson
Published May 31, 2011 at 9:55 AM EDT
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists performs at Sasquatch Music Festival 2011.
James Bailey for KEXP
Colin Meloy of The Decemberists performs at Sasquatch Music Festival 2011.

The Decemberists must have brainstormed many ways to follow the massively ambitious, best-selling 2008 "folk opera" The Hazards of Love: After all, not every Decemberists album can feature a large supporting cast, interlocking narratives and a generous body count. The hyper-literate Portland, Ore., band made a canny move in simplifying its attack on this year's The King Is Dead, which focuses on Colin Meloy's gift for bright, infectious roots-folk songwriting.

Recorded live at The Gorge on Monday, May 30 as part of the 2011 Sasquatch Music Festival outside Seattle, Wash., The Decemberists' members made this appearance at a heady time: Multi-instrumentalist Jenny Conlee is only weeks removed from a breast-cancer diagnosis. She wasn't expected to tour with the band in May or June, but she nevertheless made the trip as she prepares to undergo further treatment.

Set List

  • The Infanta

  • Down By The Water

  • Calamity Song

  • Rox In The Box

  • Rise To Me

  • Won't Want For Love

  • The Crane Wife 3

  • Don't Carry It All

  • "Jazz-quatch" interlude

  • Your Love

  • The Rake's Song

  • The Mariner's Revenge Song

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    Stephen Thompson
    Stephen Thompson is a writer, editor and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist on All Songs Considered. Since 2010, Thompson has been a fixture on the NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created and developed with NPR correspondent Linda Holmes. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk Concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)
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