THE DECEMBERISTS TO PERFORM ON COLBERT

The Decemberists have confirmed a performance on Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report for Monday, April 27. This will be the band’s first appearance on the show since 2006’s ShredDown where guitarist Chris Funk was dubiously defeated by last-minute Colbert fill-in Peter Frampton, and Eliot Spitzer had to recuse himself from the voting after an attempted Colbert bribe.
 
The Decemberists have also announced most of Phase Two of their “A Short Fazed Hovel” 2009 tour in support of The Hazards of Love, their ambitious new album on Capitol Records. Kicking off July 17 in Seattle, Washington, Phase Two will also include two shows at the Edgefield Winery in their hometown of Portland, Oregon. A limited number of pre-sale tickets go on sale today to the public on a first-come, first-served basis at http://www.decemberists.tickets.musictoday.com. Tickets are already on sale for the Edgefield Winery. Tickets will go on sale to the public for newly-announced headline concerts beginning Friday, April 17 at 10am ET. Full venue and ticketing information is available at The Decemberists’ website.
 
On tour, The Decemberists will play two sets a night, the first a full performance of The Hazards of Love, and the second consisting of their older material. Joining the band on stage will be special guests Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden. Pitchfork called the band’s live debut of the piece at SXSW “a triumph,” while The Wall Street Journal declared it “a remarkable experience.”
 
The Decemberists’ confirmed 2009 tour dates are as follows:
 
May 19          Los Angeles, CA        Hollywood Palladium (w/ Other Lives)
May 20          Oakland, CA             Fox Theatre (w/ Other Lives)
May 21          Eugene, OR              McDonald Theater (w/ Other Lives)
May 23          Quincy, WA             Sasquatch Festival
May 24          Missoula, MT            Wilma Theatre (w/ Blind Pilot)
May 26          Denver, CO              Fillmore Auditorium (w/ Blind Pilot)
May 27          Kansas City, MO       Uptown Theater (w/ Blind Pilot)
May 29          Milwaukee, WI          Riverside Theater (w/ Blind Pilot)
May 31          St. Louis, MO           The Pageant (w/ Blind Pilot)
June 1           Columbus, OH           Lifestyle Communities Pavilion (w/ Blind Pilot)         
June 3           Atlanta, GA              Tabernacle (w/ Blind Pilot)
June 4           Raleigh, NC              Memorial Auditorium (w/ Blind Pilot)
June 5           Richmond, VA           The National (w/ Blind Pilot)
June 6           Upper Darby, PA       Tower Theatre (w/ Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3)
June 8           Baltimore, MD           Merriweather Post Pavilion (w/ Andrew Bird & Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3)
June 9           Boston, MA              Bank of America Pavilion (w/ Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3)
June 10         New York, NY           Radio City Music Hall (w/ Robyn Hitchcock & the Venus 3)                
June 11-14    Manchester, TN        Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival
June 20         Minneapolis, MN        Rock the Garden/Walker Art Center (w/ Calexico, Yeasayer, Solid Gold)
July 17          Seattle, WA             Marymoor Park (w/ Andrew Bird & Blind Pilot)
July 18-19     Portland, OR            Edgefield Winery (w/ Andrew Bird & Blind Pilot)
July 21-22     Vancouver, BC         Vogue Theater (w/ Blind Pilot)
August 3       Toronto, ONT           Kool Haus (w/ Heartless Bastards)
August 5       Madison, WI             Orpheum Theater (w/ Heartless Bastards)
August 8       Indianapolis, IN         Murat Egyptian Room (w/ Heartless Bastards)
August 10      Louisville, KY            W.L. Lyons Brown Theater (w/ Blind Pilot)
August 11      Detroit, MI               Royal Oak Theater (w/ Heartless Bastards)