The Decemberists' summer concert tour, "A Short Fazed Hovel," is an anagram of their newest release The Hazards of Love - something you might expect from a quirky band out of Portland, Ore.
What wasn't expected, however, was the booming rock sound coming out of the LP after such folk revival-inspired songs on Castaways and Cutouts.
The ambitious tour hit big metropolitan venues such as Radio City Music Hall in New York City on June 10, and cult classic festivals like South by Southwest in Austin, Texas and Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn. later in the month.
The show started with the band performing Hazards of Love in its entirety with visual effects and powerhouse vocalists Becky Stark and Shara Worden portraying various characters from the disc.
Ornate in its theory and even more so in its practice, Hazards of Love needed a team of people backstage during the performance at Radio City to assist with quick tune-ups and instrument changes. After the rock-opera, The Decemberists played favorites from previous records, while the audience responded to frontman Colin Meloy's entreaties to participate by harmonizing different sections of the hall to "Billy Liar."
Meloy also covered Fleetwood Mac and R.E.M. with a guest appearance by R.E.M. guitarist Peter Buck.