On 3/22/18, I saw The Decemberists play the Fox Theater in Pomona, California. It was the first stop in support of the album, I’ll Be Your Girl.
It has always been a dream of mine to see a band’s first stop on a tour after releasing a new album. Often, I see bands deep into a tour. By that time, they have a good sense of how audiences are reacting to new material. Even if their setlist is constantly changing, deep into a tour, they know what works and what does not.
This was my second time seeing The Decemberists perform live. Given the release of a new album, they, of course, played the released singles, but they also dug deeper into the collection to see what connected with the audience. As the band played some of those deeper cuts, Colin Meloy (Lead Singer) spent some time discussing the genesis of some of the new materials. This made the experience feel pretty special to me.
The setlist for the evening featured a balanced mixture of both new and old material. Much like my first show, the evening ended with Mariner’s Revenge Song. Next to Pearl Jam’s Yellow Ledbetter, this may be one of my favorite closing songs in the history of live music.
As far as my ideal setlist is concerned, the songs below are a collection of Decemberists songs I have returned to most often. You will not find a song from every album, nor are all my favorite songs listed below. Instead, these are 15 songs that keep me coming back for more. As always, I would love to hear from you. What is your ideal setlist?
To listen to that playlist, click HERE.
Calvary Captain
Make You Better
A Beginning Song
Stateside
Better Not Wake the Baby
To listen to the entire playlist, click HERE.
The Harrowed and The Haunted, Starwatcher, I’ll Be Your Girl, Riverswim, Severed, Everything Is Awful, Cutting Stone, Tripping Along, Sucker’s Prayer, Sons & Daughters
Be good to each other,
Nathan
