THE DECEMBERISTS DOWN UNDER

Watch The Decemberists and other great gigs on Moshcam.

The Decemberists performed their very first headlining tour in Sydney's Metro Theater last month. You can watch it in it's entirety right here!

HERE COME THE WAVES: THE HAZARDS OF LOVE VISUALIZED

The Decemberists’ epic song cycle The Hazards Of Love takes on new life on December 1st with the release of Here Come The Waves: The Hazards Of Love Visualized, a full-length video album available exclusively through iTunes, the first of a kind for the digital retailer. Here Come The Waves, which was debuted live in Los Angeles in October to rave reviews, is a collaboration with four filmmakers—Peter Sluszka, Julia Pott, Guilherme Marcondes, and Santa Maria—each of whom created original animation to accompany a section of the album.

The Hazards Of Love became one of the most discussed album’s of the year when EMI’s Capitol Records released it in March, and went on to become a thrilling live spectacle as the band performed the album in it’s entirety throughout the summer in front of sold-out audiences across the country from their hometown of Portland, Oregon, to New York’s Radio City Music Hall, as well as major festivals including Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits.

HERE COME THE WAVES: THE HAZARDS OF LOVE VISUALIZED @ UCLA. THE DECEMBERISTS LIVE!

In early 2009, Portland’s own, The Decemberists along with Shara Worden from my Brightest Diamond and Becky Stark from Lavender Diamond, put together one of their finest albums to date. ‘The Hazards of Love’ is a rock opera of a one continuous track, displaying songs of love, falling stars, wounded fawn, crippled children, marriage, fireflies, life, and death.

This was truly something different and successfully done: a masterpiece. In the springtime, I had the opportunity to see them perform this album from start to finish without stopping, just like on the album, and they did it with finesse. It was then front man Colin Meloy had the genius idea to turn this lyrical story into a visual narrative. He collaborated with artists/filmmakers/animators Guilherme Marcondes, Julia Pott, Peter Sluszka and Santa Maria to create this vision of beauty with the idea that they would perform the album synced up to this series of vignettes, and they did, without a hitch and flawlessly.

This was the conclusion, and last day of the their US tour and the debut and premiere of ‘Here Come the Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized’. This night was truly special. They created a mood that I have not witnessed in a live performance for a very long time. I can honestly say this was the first show that I have gone to in a while, and we go to many here at Musicbleep, that left me with speechless. Once they completed a non-stop performance of the videos and ‘The Hazards of Love’, they came back for another full set of older tunes starting off with a Morrissey cover “The Sporting Life’, my favorite ‘The Crane Wife 1&2”, and Shara Worden and Becky Stark along with the rest of the band did a smashing cover of Heart’s “Crazy On You”. I was floored.

This was a truly honored event to have attended and could not have been at a more appropriate venue, Royce Hall at UCLA. Although this does not do it justice, here are some photographs and a sample of clips from the collection of films that we saw that evening. If you are not familiar with this amazing group of artists check them out at

STAY TUNED...

Monday night we had the most amazing experience of witnessing the Decemberists perform their latest 'Hazards of Love' synced up to a special video, that was produced specially for this rock-opera album. Here is a small sample of what we saw. Stay tuned this week for a full review of the show, that left us lost for words.

HERE COMES THE WAVES: THE HAZARDS OF LOVE VISUALIZED

The Decemberists’ album The Hazards of Love was released by EMI’s Capitol Records in March to rave reviews with NPR calling the album an “epic adventure” and SPIN writing that it “yields spectacular sparks,” adding that it contains “some of the snarliest, bluesiest, rockingest moments in The Decemberists’ catalog.” The raves continued when the band hit the road for their “A Short Fazed Hovel” tour with Pitchfork calling the live performance “a triumph,” The Wall Street Journal declaring it “a remarkable experience,” and New York Magazine naming it the “Indie Rock Show of the Year.”

On October 19, The Decemberists will unveil Here Come The Waves: The Hazards of Love Visualized, a special project that takes their ambitious and acclaimed song cycle to new heights for it’s final American performance at UCLA’s Royce Hall in Los Angeles. This unique live experience will feature The Decemberists in collaboration with four filmmakers—Guilherme Marcondes, Julia Pott, Peter Sluszka and Santa Maria—each of whom have created animation to accompany a section of the music. Presented in association with Flux, the event will also be a benefit for The GRAMMY Foundation®’s Grammy In The Schools® music education programs for high school students.

At Royce Hall, The Decemberists will perform the entire piece synchronized with the animation, as well as an additional second set of older and newer material. A limited presale will begin at 10:00am PT on Wednesday, September 16 at http://www.decemberists.tickets.musictoday.com. General tickets will go on sale on Friday, September 18. The band will also kick off the final leg of their “A Short Fazed Hovel” tour this week.

Click the link for tour details.
http://www.decemberists.com

A SHORT FAZED HOVEL 2009 TOUR

The Decemberists have announced Fall dates for their “A Short Fazed Hovel” 2009 tour. The tour, which features a full performance of their acclaimed new album The Hazards of Love, has been earning rave reviews as it crosses the United States from coast to coast, including sold-out performances at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, the Edgefield Winery in their hometown of Portland, Oregon, and stand-out performances at major summer festivals including Sasquatch and Bonnaroo. The band will also be performing this year at the Newport Folk Festival, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits Music Festival and Treasure Island Music Festival. A limited number of pre-sale tickets for the Fall tour, which launches September 20 in Burlington, Vermont, go on sale today to the public on a first-come, first-served basis at http://www.decemberists.tickets.musictoday.com/.

Full venue and ticketing information is available at The Decemberists’ newly redesigned website. See full list of upcoming tour dates below. NPR Music will be live webcasting and broadcasting The Decemberists’ performance at the Newport Folk Festival on August 1, which will not be The Hazards of Love, but instead a special set for the festival. The band’s performance and interview on World Cafe aired on July 24, and is now featured on the NPR Music website. Check out what the critics have been saying about The Decemberists’ live performance of The Hazards of Love featuring special guests Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond) and Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond):

The Decemberists’ confirmed 2009 tour dates are as follows:

Aug. 1 Newport, RI Newport Folk Festival
Aug. 2 Montreal, QUE Osheaga Music & Arts Festival
Aug. 3 Toronto, ONT Kool Haus (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 5 Madison, WI Orpheum Theater (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 6 Chicago, IL Metro (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 7 Chicago, IL Lollapalooza
Aug. 8 Indianapolis, IN Murat Egyptian Room (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 10 Louisville, KY W.L. Lyons Brown Theater (w/ Blind Pilot)
Aug. 11 Detroit, MI Royal Oak Theater (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 13 Buffalo, NY UB Center for the Arts (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 14 Pittsburgh, PA Byham Theater (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Aug. 15 Schwenksville, PA Philadelphia Folk Festival
Aug. 16 Holyoke, MA Mountain Park (w/ Heartless Bastards)
Sept. 20 Burlington, VT Flynn Theater (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 21 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theater (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 23 Norfolk, VA The Norva (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 24 Charlottesville, VA Charlottesville Pavilion (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 25 Asheville, NC Thomas Wolfe Auditorium (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 27 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 29 St. Augustine,FL St. Augustine Amphitheater (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Sept. 30 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Oct. 2 Houston, TX House of Blues (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Oct. 3 Austin, TX Austin City Limits Music Festival
Oct. 4 Tulsa, OK Cain's Ballroom (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Oct. 6 Lexington, KY University of Kentucky, Lexington (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Oct. 7 Columbia, MO Ninth St. Fall Fest (w/ Laura Veirs & the Hall of Flames)
Oct. 18 San Francisco, CA Treasure Island Music Festival
Nov. 18 London, UK Forum
Nov. 19 London, UK Coronet

HOW DID I MISS THIS?

As you all know, I have an affection for Colin Meloy and The Decemberists, and yesterday at work (during my "downtime"), I was googling around and found something quite surprising to me and I became very excited. I, being the music follower I am, am shocked and surprised that I missed this completely. "The Crane Wife" is not only the title of The Decemberist's 2006 release, but it is a three part lyrical story documented on this album, and is simply genius! So, back to my discovery. I found that the legendary Rocker/Singer/Songwriter Marianne Faithfull did a cover of 'The Crane Wife pt. 3' and not only recorded it with Nick Drake on her latest album "Easy Come, Easy Go", but performed it live on David Letterman. Check out the live performance below and go download it on iTunes!

THE HAZARDS OF LOVE

Last Tuesday at the newly renovated Hollywood Palladium, the Decemberists demonstrated an amazing variety of extreme talent. Portland based extraordinaries: Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee,Nate Querey, and John Moen plus special guests Becky Stark of 'Lavender Diamond' and Shara Worden of 'My Brightest Diamond' completely rocked the stage playing one continuous, non-stop live version of their latest album 'The Hazards of Love'.

It was no surprise to me that the Decemberists was going to be an amazing show, but I was not expecting the experience they gave me that evening. From the very beginning with 'Hazards of Love 1 (The Prettiest Whistles Won't Wrestle in the Thistles Undone' all the way through to 'The Hazards of Love 4 (The Drowned), they not once stopped playing an instrument, transitioning from one song to the next, without a glitch. It was breathtaking and glorious.

If you have yet to have a listen to "The Hazards of Love' do so on iTunes. It has to be one of the best conceptual albums in the past ten years, and is a definite treat!

Take a peek at one of the highlights of the show below:

IN CASE YOU MISSED EM...

"The Wanting Comes In Waves" was performed by The Decemberists on Leno the other night! This is one of my favorite songs off their latest album, THE HAZZARDS OF LOVE. We will be at their show Tuesday night, so check back for a review & photos. In the meantime, check out this killer performance!

KCREW WELCOMES THE DECEMBERISTS

The Decemberists stopped by KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic to give the world a taste of their latest masterpiece, HAZARDS OF LOVE.

The Decemberists will be at the newly vamped Hollywood Palladium tomorrow with another great band, Other Lives.

THE HAZARDS OF LOVE

I know it has been a while since it's release (March 24th), but I had to just finally sit down and talk about this album. Just when I when I though that they could not get any better, the Portland based band proved me wrong. With their 5th full length, "The Hazards of Love", these genius musicians have reinvented themselves, while maintaining the Decemberist's sound that we all love. They are one of the few bands around that definitely have a distinct sound, both lyrically and musically and are not afraid to take risks. Just like their last album "The Crane Wife", they have produced almost a rock opera, storytelling narrative throughout the entire album. For those that are familiar with "The Neutral Milk Hotel", you would understand what I am talking about. They keep with the same theme for the duration of this one solid track-full length, always coming back to the chorus of the title track "The Hazards of Love". Without skipping a beat or emotion, the album takes you on an emotional roller coaster of vocals and instruments, that only the Decemberist's could get away with. As odd as it may sound, I picked up on some rock and roll references like Heart and even, and please forgive me, Bon Jovi, don't ask, but it's there. I look forward to their upcoming tour and their stop in Hollywood on May 19th @ the newly renovated Hollywood Palladium! Check them out at www.myspace.com/thedecemberists or at www.thedecemberists.com

IN CASE YOU MISSED EM...

Missed the Decemberists' show at the IFC Crossroads Party at SXSW? Not to worry...check out a video clip from the party right here.

PURCHASE THE HAZARDS OF LOVE ON CD OR VINYL
or on


THE DECEMBERISTS ON TOUR
May 19 - Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA
May 20 - Fox Theatre - Oakland, CA
May 21 - McDonald Theater - Eugene, OR
May 24 - Wilma Theatre - Missoula, MT
May 26 - Fillmore Auditorium - Denver, CO
May 27 - Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
May 29 - Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI
May 31 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO
June 1 - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion - Columbus, OH
June 3 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
June 4 - Memorial Auditorium - Raleigh, NC
June 5 - The National - Richmond, VA
June 6 - Tower Theatre - Upper Darby, PA
June 9 - Bank of America Pavillion - Boston, MA
June 10 - Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
June 11-14 - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival - Manchester, TNJuly 18 - Edgefield - Troutdale, OR w/ Andrew Bird
July 19 - Edgefield - Troutdale, OR w/ Andrew Bird

DESIGN THE OFFICIAL DECEMBERISTS SHOW POSTER

On March 18th, The Decemberists will give the debut live performance of their epic new song cycle The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin. To mark the occassion, Capitol Records (who will release the album on March 24) and Imeem are inviting fans to design the official poster for the showcase with a contest -- the winning design will be hand-picked by the band and contestants can enter here:

http://www.imeem.com/thedecemberistsfans

As previously announced, The Decemberists will play The Hazards of Love, in sequence, in its entirety. Joining all five members of the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album. Opening bands are North Carolina trio The Avett Brothers, set to debut songs from its forthcoming album produced by Rick Rubin, and bluesy rockers Heartless Bastards, riding the success of its third record, The Mountain. The concert will begin at 10pm CST and will be streamed live, archived and podcast at www.NPR.org/sxsw, and will be available for broadcast on NPR Member stations across the country.

THE DECEMBERISTS ON TOUR
May 19 - Hollywood Palladium - Los Angeles, CA
May 20 - Fox Theatre - Oakland, CA
May 21 - McDonald Theater - Eugene, OR
May 24 - Wilma Theatre - Missoula, MT
May 26 - Fillmore Auditorium - Denver, CO
May 27 - Uptown Theater - Kansas City, MO
May 29 - Riverside Theater - Milwaukee, WI
May 31 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO
June 1 - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion - Columbus, OH
June 3 - Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
June 4 - Memorial Auditorium - Raleigh, NC
June 5 - The National - Richmond, VA
June 6 - Tower Theatre - Upper Darby, PA
June 9 - Bank of America Pavillion - Boston, MA
June 10 - Radio City Music Hall - New York, NY
June 11-14 - Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival - Manchester, TN

More tour info and ticket buy links: http://www.decemberists.com/tour.aspx

Listen to new songs: www.myspace.com/thedecemberists

Pre-order The Hazards of Love on CD or VINYL

Follow Colin on Twitter

THE DECEMBERISTS ANNOUNCE SPRING U.S. TOUR

THE DECEMBERISTS ANNOUNCE FIRST LEG

OF SPRING 2009 NORTH AMERICAN TOUR;

KICKING OFF MAY 19th

THE HAZARDS OF LOVE SET FOR

MARCH 24th RELEASE ON CAPITOL RECORDS

The Decemberists have announced the first leg of their Spring 2009 North American tour in support of The Hazards of Love, their ambitious new album to be released by Capitol Records on March 24th. The 16-date run will kick off May 19^th at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, and include a June 10th performance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, as well as a set at the 2009 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival in Tennessee.

A limited number of pre-sale tickets go on sale today to the public on a first-come, first-served basis at http://www.decemberists.tickets.musictoday.com. General ticket on-sales begin on Friday, February 13th. Full venue and ticketing information is available at The Decemberists’ website. More upcoming tour dates will be announced shortly.

On tour, The Decemberists will present a full performance of the album, a 17-song suite that tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake. Joining the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden who deliver the lead vocals for the female characters. The band announced last week that they will give the debut live performance of The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music’s South by Southwest showcase at Stubbs in Austin on March 18th.

With their fifth full-length album, the Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen solidifies its standing as one of the most innovative creative forces in music today. In an age when singles rule and the death of the album has been pronounced by many, The Decemberists have fashioned an anomaly: a record that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. NPR All Songs Considered has already declared it an “epic adventure,” while Rolling Stone recently wrote that “[The] Hazards of Love is The Decemberists’ full-on classic-rock move, with pretty Zep-style fingerpicking punctuated by crushing stoner-metal lurches"

The Decemberists’ confirmed Spring 2009 tour dates are as follows:

May 19 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, CA

May 20 Fox Theatre Oakland, CA

May 21 McDonald Theater Eugene, OR

May 24 Wilma Theatre Missoula, MT

May 26 Fillmore Auditorium Denver, CO

May 27 Uptown Theater Kansas City, MO

May 29 Riverside Theater Milwaukee, WI

May 31 The Pageant St. Louis, MO

June 1 Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Columbus, OH

June 3 Tabernacle Atlanta, GA

June 4 Memorial Auditorium Raleigh, NC

June 5 The National Richmond, VA

June 6 Tower Theatre Upper Darby, PA

June 9 Bank of America Pavillion Boston, MA

June 10 Radio City Music Hall New York, NY

June 11-14 Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival Manchester, TN

NPR @ SXSW WITH THE DECEMBERISTS

NPR MUSIC PRESENTS SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST SHOWCASE
WITH THE DECEMBERISTS, MARCH 18 AT STUBBS

THE DECEMBERISTS TO GIVE FIRST LIVE PERFORMANCE

OF ENTIRE NEW ALBUM THE HAZARDS OF LOVE

NPR Music and Five NPR Member Stations

To Live Broadcast, Webcast and Podcast Entire Show

February 2, 2009; Washington, D.C. – NPR Music will present a South by Southwest showcase headlined by The Decemberists at Stubbs on Wednesday, March 18, kicking off the opening night of this year’s SXSW Music Conference and Festival in Austin, TX. The concert will mark the Portland-based band’s first live performance of its forthcoming album The Hazards of Love, which The Decemberists will debut in its entirety. Additional bands in the lineup, and NPR Music’s complete schedule of events at SXSW 2009, are to be announced.

Following the popularity of its concerts and on-air and online coverage at SXSW last year, NPR Music will live webcast and broadcast the entire concert. The concert will be streamed live, podcast and archived at www.NPR.org/music, and will be available for broadcast on NPR Member stations across the country. As in years past, NPR Music is partnering with five NPR Member stations – KUT Austin, WFUV New York, WXPN Philadelphia, KEXP Seattle and The Current from Minnesota Public Radio – to offer extensive coverage of the influential music festival on-air and online.

At SXSW, The Decemberists will perform all 17 songs from The Hazards of Love in sequence –how the band intends for the record to be heard. The Hazards of Love, out March 24 from Capitol Records, is the follow up to the quintet’s 2006 breakthrough The Crane Wife, and augments the band’s standing as one of the most creative forces in music. This album tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, immoral rake. Joining The Decemberists members Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen on stage at Stubbs will be Lavendar Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album.

NPR Music’s broadcast and webcast of the concert will be anchored by Bob Boilen, host and creator of the popular show All Songs Considered and its Live in Concert series. Joining Bob will be NPR Music blogger Carrie Brownstein and David Brown, host of Austin Music Unlimited on KUT in Austin. “Usually, you go to a concert to hear your favorite band perform your favorite songs, but this 17 song journey will be a completely new to the audience,” says Bob Boilen. “It’s going to be so much fun to see everyone experience this absolutely epic and fun song cycle performed live for the first time.” Boilen announced the SXSW show on today’s episode of All Songs Considered, which features a track – “The Rake’s Song” – off The Hazards of Love. The All Songs episode is available at: www.NPR.org/allsongs

Last year, NPR Music and the five stations live webcast and broadcast 14 of the most anticipated concerts from SXSW, among them R.E.M., My Morning Jacket and Vampire Weekend. NPR Music’s daytime concert at The Parish was one of the festival’s must-hears, with headliners Vampire Weekend joined by Bon Iver, Yeasayer, The Shout Out Louds, Jens Lekman and A.A. Bondy. Those concerts, along with artist interviews and live audio and video performance sessions, are archived at: www.NPR.org/sxsw

NPR Music is a multimedia music site that features content from NPR and 12 NPR Member public radio stations, including live performances, studio sessions, exclusive first listens to new albums, interviews, reviews and blogs. The site’s continuously expanding sections are dedicated to rock/pop/folk, classical, jazz/blues, world and urban music. NPR Music culls from NPR’s and the stations’ extensive music archives to present thousands of features; more than 240 new features are added to the site every month. The site’s popular Concert section offers hundreds of streaming concerts in every genre

FREE SONG FROM THE DECEMBERISTS

As most of you may already know, The Decemberists are preparing to release their fifth full-length album, The Hazards of Love, on March 24. The album is a 17-song suite that demands to be listened to from start to finish and reveals more with each subsequent play. It is rooted in ancient language and imagery, yet entirely modern and accessible.

The Portland-based quintet of Colin Meloy, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee, Nate Query and John Moen are eager to share a bit of the new music with fans before street date -- The Decemberists are making “The Rake’s Song” available as a free download beginning today at:

www.decemberists.com



The album began when Meloy – long fascinated by the British folk revival of the 1960s – found a copy of revered vocalist Anne Briggs’s 1966 EP, titled The Hazards of Love. Since there was no actual song with the album’s title, he set out to write one, but was soon immersed in something much larger.

The Hazards Of Love tells the tale of a woman named Margaret who is ravaged by a shape-shifting animal; her lover, William; a forest queen; and a cold-blooded, lascivious rake, who recounts with spine-tingling ease how he came “to be living so easy and free” in the aforementioned “The Rake’s Song.” 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. The range of sounds reflects the characters’ arcs, from the accordion’s singsong lilt in “Isn’t it a Lovely Night?” to the heavy metal thunder of “The Queen’s Rebuke/The Crossing.”

“There’s an odd bond between the music of the British folk revival and classic metal,” says Meloy. “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.”

The Decemberists will tour this spring, playing The Hazards Of Love straight through for the show’s first half and older material for the remainder. Tour dates will be announced shortly.

PRE-SALE TIX ON SALE NOW!

The Decemberists will embark on the "Bridesmaid Revisited - Tour 2008" shortly after an election eve performance on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." A limited number of pre-sale tickets go on sale TODAY to the public on a first-come, first-served basis at http://www.decemberists.tickets.musictoday.com. General ticket on-sales begin on Saturday, September 6th, for East Coast dates and on Saturday, September 13th, for West Coast dates. Portland-based band Loch Lomond will open on the tour. See below for itinerary; full venue and ticketing information is available at The Decemberists' website.

Always compelling live, this time round the band's shows will include material from its upcoming Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series, which will be released this fall. Volume I, comprised of "Valerie Plame" and "O New England," is due out October 14th; Volumes II and III will follow on November 4th and December 2nd respectively. The series will be available digitally at DSPs, released by Capitol Records, and on 12" vinyl via The Decemberists' own label, Y.A.B.B. Records/Jealous Butcher Records. The vinyl can be purchased at http://www.decemberistsshop.com/ and at select independent retail stores (go to http://www.thinkindie.com to find out where).

The band is presently recording its next full-length album with Tucker Martine, who produced Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series and co-produced The Decemberists' fourth full-length album, 2006's acclaimed The Crane Wife.

ALWAYS THE BRIDESMAID

The Decemberists will release Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series this fall. The three volumes will be available digitally and on 12" vinyl. Volume 1, comprised of "Valerie Plame" and "O New England," will be released on October 14th. The band will give "Valerie Plame" its national television debut on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" on November 3rd, the eve of the United States presidential election. Written from the point-of-view of one of Plame's inside contacts upon discovering her true identity, the song is an amorous tribute to the onetime CIA operative. The Decemberists will be playing select U.S. dates this November; details will be announced shortly.

Volume II and Volume III of Always The Bridesmaid: A Singles Series will be released on November 4th and December 2nd respectively. (See below for track listings.) The series will be available digitally at DSPs, released by Capitol Records, and on 12" vinyl via The Decemberists' own label, Y.A.B.B. Records/Jealous Butcher Records. Fans who pre-order all three singles through the band's website will receive a limited edition version on colored vinyl; the pre-order begins today at http://www.decemberistsshop.com/. The vinyl will also be available at select independent retail stores (go to http://www.thinkindie.com to find out where). In the U.K., Rough Trade will release the series digitally and on 7" vinyl.

Formed in Portland, Oregon in 2000, The Decemberists weave spellbinding tales rife with atmosphere and an infallible melodic knack. 2006's The Crane Wife - the band's fourth full-length album and its first released by Capitol Records - was hailed by Pitchfork as "an enormous folk-prog monsterpiece" while The New York Times called it "one of the most accomplished albums of its kind this year."

The band is currently in the studio working on a new full-length album with Tucker Martine, who produced Always The Bridesmaid: The Singles Series and co-produced The Crane Wife.