the decemberists!

Husband bought me tickets to see The Decemberists last Thursday night. It being the second day of a new school year, I thought I'd be too exhausted to fully enjoy it. Wrong! We had so. much. fun! The opener was a sweet gal by the name of Sara Watkins. She joined The Decemberists back in January to help out with their tour since their accordion player is battling breast cancer. Sara's genre of choice is bluegrass, and she, along with her brother on acoustic guitar, put on a great show. Watching her play violin was inspirational and I felt a pang of regret for not following my desire to play a string instrument. Her vocals were strong and sweet sounding. I didn't buy her album but learned the following day that one of Justin's co-workers did and was able to burn myself a copy. Happy!

The Decemberists were up next, which I was thankful for since my eyes were starting to droop.

They played:
Oceanside
Down by the Water
Calamity Song
January Hymn
The Soldiering Life
We Both Go Down Together (Now we're going to lighten the mood by singing this song about a double suicide)
The Engine Driver
Won’t Want for Love (Margaret in the Taiga)
The Rake’s Song
All Arise!
Rox in the Box
O Valencia!
This Is Why We Fight (So, I heard that a while back all these performers were boycotting AZ because of all that was going on. That should be even more of a reason to come and play here.)
–
1st Encore
Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye
The Mariner’s Revenge Song - So many fun things happened during this song!
–
2nd Encore
June Hymn

Justin and I were both over-the-moon-excited about The Mariner's Revenge.  One of my favorite songs.  I was clapping so fast and hard, I probably doubled as one of those wind-up monkey and cymbals toys.  During this song, Colin made us scream as though we were really in the belly of a whale.  This song was definitely a crowd favorite with all the hooting, swaying, and singing.  I'll leave you with this video I shot of my favorite part of The Mariner's Revenge Song.  I apologize for the shakiness.  I had to stand on my tippy toes because, as usual, the two tallest people on the planet stood right in front of me.