Mercifully, “An Interlude” followed, the peaceful instrumental that allowed everyone on stage and off a chance to take a breather after Worden nearly stole the show.
Meloy, who wrote all the album’s songs excluding “Prelude,” splendidly handled double duty as “William” and the “Rake,” appearing thoughtful and kind one moment, haunting and menacing the next.
The all-around musicianship was superb, from Conlee’s opening notes on the synthesizer and Hammond B-3 organ. 
The other regular band members – Chris
Funk (guitars), Nate Query (bass, above left with Meloy) and John Moen (drums) – took on other musical tasks as well. Worden and Stark added to the fun by beating the drums and joining Meloy on chants of “All right! All right!” for a phenomenal and furious finish to “The Rake’s Song.”
More surprises followed and Meloy held it all together at center stage with four tender variations of “The Hazards of Love,” the third led by a prerecorded children’s chorus and the fourth serving as the epilogue.
It was a tough act to follow. Even if the Decemberists were following themselves. After a 15-minute intermission, the Portland, Ore.-based quintet performed 45 minutes of selections from their past that dates back to 2001.
When it was all said and done, the second set seemed like a bit of a letdown, though. Maybe the audience, with its fantastic energy, was spent after witnessing the wondrous experience of The Hazards of Love.
Meloy seemed relaxed, though, returning with only his regular band members. But by identifying the “Mile High City” as “the home of a football team,” he missed his chance to further connect with a sports-crazed city that was living and dying at the time with the Nuggets in the NBA playoffs.
No worries. Meloy chatted casually in between songs that covered dark subjects such as a child dying at birth (“Leslie Ann Levine” off 2002’s Castaways and Cutouts) and joint suicide (an R.E.M-like “We Both Go Down Together”), focusing on tales of “teenage self-absorption” because “there are fans of that, I can tell,” he said.
Meloy eventually brought back Worden for a duet on “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)” from the 2006The Crane Wife, then re-energized the near-capacity crowd with a singalong on “Billy Liar,” a playful and jaunty British-sounding ditty with early Beatles guitar licks.
Article comments
1 - Mat Brewster
Sounds like a heck of a night. I was curious as to how they were going to pull the new one off in a live setting.
2 - Michael
Yeah, Mat, so was I. But it worked beautifully. Just wondering how long they'll be able to maintain the same energy and enthusiasm. Hope they decide to flip the sets, too.