The Decemberists, fronted by Colin Meloy, above, have ascended from critical darlings to festival headliners in a little more than two years, continuing a trend that exposes their pleasant indie pop for what it really is: lifestyle music.
Film soundtracks and commercial spots? No problem. As the Shins, Death Cab for Cutie, Modest Mouse and others have learned, the path to the mainstream is paved with chiming melodies and agreeable lyrics.
This isn’t necessarily bad, as all these groups still enjoy considerable hipster cred. And really, what isn’t lifestyle music in this iPod age? It’s just amusing to hear songs once considered too intellectual for the radio become background music at Arby’s.
Godspeed, I say. As long as it isn’t forcing artists to censor or otherwise compromise themselves, it’s good to expand one’s audience. Indeed, when the Decemberists play Denver on April 22 they’ll make the jump to the Fillmore Auditorium, a venue the aforementioned groups moved to after outgrowing smaller theaters.
Tickets are sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($15, Ticketmaster)
Patty Griffin has collected the kind of glowing laurels that would make anyone blush, but the accomplished folk songwriter improves with each album instead of resting on them. Griffin will visit the Boulder Theater March 22-23 to play songs from her new album, “Children Running Through,” which some critics are already hailing as one of the year’s best. Tickets are on sale now. ($25-$34, bouldertheater.com)
Wanda Sykes will continue the trend of big-name comedians visiting Comedy Works when she headlines the venue March 16-17. The “secret” show was previously announced to those who signed up on its website, but public tickets will go on sale Monday. ($38, comedyworks.com)
“Lost in Yonkers,” Neil Simon’s Pulitzer Prize-winning comedic take on family drama, comes to Fort Collins’ Lincoln Center Feb. 7-10 as part of the Montana Repertory Theatre’s current touring season. Tickets are on sale now. ($24-$26, 970-221-6730 or lctix.com)
Albert Hammond Jr. will test songs from his new solo record when he opens for Incubus on Thursday, but if you don’t already have tickets, you’re out of luck. Never fear, fans of the Strokes guitarist: Hammond returns to Denver on March 10 with mod rockers The Mooney Suzuki. Tickets for the intimate show at The Marquis Theater are on sale now. ($15, TicketWeb)
