Tell me why you lied, And what it is you do to keep your eyes all shiny

Friday 11 March - was a complete departure from the norm for us as we travelled into Leeds to see The Decemberists at the O2 Academy. This was a somewhat bigger venue than usual for us and we arrived reasonably early in order to get prime position near the front of the crowd. Support came from Blind Pilot, an American indie folk band based in Portland, Oregon. They were perfect warm up showcasing songs from their debut album 3 Rounds and a Sound with Fleet Foxes-style harmonies and breathy-voiced vocals.

The Decemberists are also an indie folk from Portland but they have no less than six studio albums to their name and are currently touring their latest one The King Is Dead. The band consist of; Colin Meloy (lead singer, guitar, harmonica), Chris Funk (guitar, multi-instrumentalist), Jenny Conlee (Hammond organ, accordion, melodica, piano, keyboards, synthesizer, harmonica), Nate Query (bass guitar, double bass), John Moen (drums, backing vocals, melodica), and for this tour they have Sara Watkins providing Violin, backing vocals, and more guitar. After a brief light 'n' sound theatrical prelude the band launched into Shiny from their 5 Songs EP. This was followed by three tracks from the new album; Down by the Water, Rox in the Box, and Rise to Me. Next they re-visted older material with July July!, The Bagman's Gambit, Annan Water, Won't Want for Love (Margaret In the Taiga), and the epic The Island: Come & See/The Landlord's Daughter/You'll Not Feel the Drowning. Quite how they managed to include excerpts from The Hazards of Love, basically a concept album, into the set is a testament to their musical talent. Then we had another three new songs; Don't Carry It All, Calamity Song, and This is Why We Fight, with Military Wives from Picaresque added into the mix.

For an encore they played two more old numbers; Red Right Ankle (Her Majesty the Decemberists) and Sons and Daughters (The Crane Wife). We even got a second encore when they finally rounded off the gig with June Hymn (The King Is Dead).

This was definitely the gig of the year for me and I can heartily recommend that you try and catch them on tour, or failing that, buy one/more of their albums.