Apparently, The Decemberists want everyone in the whole world to know that they are done subjecting us to bloated, convoluted, proto-metal-prog-folk meta-opera for a while. They seem especially heavy-handed in their distinction of the forthcoming LP The King is Dead (due January 18 on Capitol and January 17 in Europe via Rough Trade) as a “deliberate turn toward simplicity” after 2009’s expertly performed, arranged, and recorded but piss-poorly conceived The Hazards of Love (TMT Review). Although, for whatever reason, they describe that record as “wildly ambitious” instead of “piss-poorly conceived.” Go figure.
Anyway, while we all wait and wonder what a simple album from Colin Meloy and co. might sound like, we can marvel at the satisfyingly straightforward list of tourdates they’ve just announced for 2011. The 16-city run kicks off at New York’s Beacon Theater on January 25 and culminates with a hometown show at Portland’s Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall before making a left turn at Albuquerque and heading for Europe. Also, to keep the simplicity theme going, I’m told that the band will be touring in a Hyundai Accent, wearing their pajamas as their stage clothes, and listing only “bread crust” and “water” on their riders.
Oh, also, they’ll be performing the lead single from The King is Dead, “Down by the Water,” Thursday on Conan O’Brien’s ho-hum basic cable talk show with folk star Gillian Welch (who is also featured on seven of The King is Dead’s 10 tracks) as a special guest. (Please note that Gillian Welch is a totally different person than Gillian Anderson.)
Tourdates:
01.25.10 - New York, NY - Beacon Theatre *
01.28.10 - New York, NY - House of Blues *
01.29.10 - Boston, MA - House of Blues *
01.31.10 - Montreal, Canada - Olympia De Montreal *
02.01.10 - Toronto, Canada - Sound Academy *
02.02.10 - Royal Oak, MI - Royal Oak Music Theatre *
02.04.10 - Chicago, IL - Riviera Theatre *
02.05.10 - Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theatre #
02.06.10 - Minneapolis, MN - State Theatre #
02.07.10 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre #
02.09.10 - Boulder, CO - Boulder Theater #
02.10.10 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre #
02.12.10 - Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern #
02.13.10 - San Diego, CA - House of Blues-San Diego #
02.14.10 - Oakland, CA - Fox Theater #
02.18.10 - Seattle, WA - Paramount Ballroom #
02.19.10 - Portland, OR - Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall #
03.04.10 - Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street
03.05.10 - Glasgow - UK - ABC
03.07.10 - Birmingham, UK- Birmingham Institute
03.08.10 - Bristol, UK - Bristol Academy
03.10.10 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Academy
03.11.10 - Leeds, UK - Leeds Academy
03.13.10 - Antwerp, Belgium - Trix
03.14.10 - Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso
03.16.10 - London, UK - Hammersmith Apollo
* Wye Oak
# Mountain Man
• The Decemberists: http://www.decemberists.com
• Capitol: http://www.capitolrecords.com
