Colin Meloy, The Decemberists

I’ve had a bit of a bug the last couple of days and am feeling slightly enfeebled through lack of sleep and inability to eat much but I was determined to make it over to Manchester tonight to see the mighty Decemberists – the pride of Portland, Oregon. I’m glad that I did!

Spokes, however, has been hit rather worse than I have by the lurgy and wasn’t able to accompany me which was a huge shame. I did however meet up with my pals, Mel (over from Ulverston) and Carol (from Lancaster) so I was in good company.

This was the 3rd time I’ve seen the band and, as ever, they were absolutely fantastic. It turned out that bassist Nate Query was also suffering from something nasty and had a bucket strategically placed at the side of the stage, just in case… but he survived the show thanks to “the healing power of music”, as he put it, and so did I.

The performance included 8 songs from their current album ‘What a Terrible World, What a Beautiful World’ as well as selections from each of their previous 6 studio albums and emphasised how good the band are in a variety of styles from pure pop, via indie-jangle and folk-rock to country-blues and no-holds-barred Prog. Erudite front-man and songwriter Colin Meloy (pictured here listening to the audience singing along to '16 Military Wives') was on excellent and entertaining form throughout, even throwing in a line from Bigmouth Strikes Again during Make You Better in apparent homage to legendary Mancunians and Meloy favourites The Smiths. Indeed, he claimed that Manchester is his spiritual home and that whenever times were tough in his teenage years in Helena, Montana he used to think “Everything would be alright if only I lived in Manchester!”… We may never know how many Mancunians would rather have grown up in Montana.

Do see them/buy all their albums if you can!

Fellow fans may be interested to know that tonight’s setlist included:

The Singer Addresses His Audience
Cavalry Captain
Down by the Water
Calamity Song
Sleepless
On the Bus Mall
Philomena
The Wrong Year
The Island
Los Angeles, I'm Yours
Carolina Low
Make You Better
The Rake's Song
The Legionnaire's Lament
16 Military Wives
O Valencia!
12/17/12
A Beginning Song
The Mariner's Revenge Song