Decemberists Remixed by Junior Boys, Diplo! Big Tour!
Indie rock meets blog house SHOCKA

It's two a.m. and you're on the floor at Making Time or Check Yo' Ponytail or something, grinding with a cutie you met in line at American Apparel. All of a sudden, a familiar voice comes over the speakers, accompanied by a thumping beat: "It was the perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect, perfect criiiime..."

Whoa, WTF? Did the cocaine just kick in? Is this some new Hood Internet mash-up? Is someone playing a joke? Nope! Believe your ears: The DJ just dropped the new Decemberists EP.

On September 25, Capitol will release The Perfect Crime #2 EP, featuring remixes of the titular track by Diplo, Junior Boys, and A Touch of Class, along with the previously unreleased "The Perfect Crime #2.5.1". It will be available as a download via digital music stores, as well as on vinyl via independent retail stores (see Thinkindie.com for a list of places).

The Crane Wife's "Perfect Crime #2" is probably the funkiest song in the Decemberists catalog-- which isn't saying much, I know. It will be interesting (to say the least) to hear what these knob-twiddlers come up with. All three remixers are no strangers to tackling indie rock tunes, usually with pretty great results. But can they turn Colin Meloy into a house diva?

All that would probably be enough Decemberists news to tide over rabid fans for the month until the EP is released, but wait! There's more! The band has also announced yet another tour in support of The Crane Wife, and, like last time, it's a tour with a concept.

"The Long and Short of It" fall tour will feature multiple-night stands in every city it hits, with each night dubbed either "Long of It" or "Short of It". According to a press release, "'Long' evenings will focus on the band's epic, progressive compositions. 'Short' nights (while no shorter in set length, we promise) will highlight their more succinct, pop-leaning material." In other words, you're more likely to hear "The Tain" and "The Island" suite on "long" nights than "short" ones.

Laura Veirs, who duets with Meloy on The Crane Wife's "Yankee Bayonet", will open all dates on the tour. She'l l be joined by her band Saltbreakers, which features Steve Moore on keyboards, Karl Blau on bass, and Crane Wife producer Tucker Martine on drums.

Usually we don't mention ticketing in tour news stories, because it would get a bit crazy (and boring) if we went through all the on-sale info for every show. But this tour has a cool twist we'd like to mention: A limited amount of pre-sale tickets for "The Long and Short of It" were custom-designed by Decemberists illustrator Carson Ellis, and pre-sale orders will come with a free poster. AND if you buy pre-sale tickets (or join the Decemberists mailing list), you get a free download of the Junior Boys remix. Whew!

In other Decemberists news (as if there wasn't enough already), the band will appear on PBS' "Austin City Limits" on October 13, and they've been added to the stellar list of people recording Malvina Reynolds' "Little Boxes" for the Showtime show "Weeds".

The Perfect Crime #2 EP tracklist:

01 A Touch of Class Robs the Bank Remix
02 Diplo's Doing Time Remix
03 Junior Boys Remix
04 The Perfect Crime #2.5.1

Dates:

09-14 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheatre (Monolith Festival)
09-16 Austin, TX - Zilker Park (Austin City Limits Festival)
09-22 Amsterdam, Netherlands - Paradiso !
09-23 Cologne, Germany - Live Music Hall !
09-24 Frankfurt, Germany - Batschkapp !
09-25 Karlsruhe, Germany -  Substage !
09-27 Vienna, Austria - Arena !
09-28 Munich, Germany - Muffathalle !
09-29 Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof !
09-30 Hamburg, Germany - Grosse Freiheit !
10-02 London, England - Royal Festival Hall !
10-03 Cambridge, England - Junction !
10-05 Wolverhampton, England - Wulfrun Hall !
10-06 Bristol, England - Anson Rooms !
10-07 Oxford, England - Academy !
10-09 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street !
10-10 Liverpool, England - Academy !
10-11 Newcastle, England - Academy !
10-12 Glasgow, Scotland - Academy !
10-13 Leeds, England - Metropolitan University !
10-28 Chicago, IL - Vic Theater ("Long of It") *
10-29 Chicago, IL - Vic Theater ("Short of It") *
11-01 New York, NY - Terminal 5 ("Long of It") *
11-02 New York, NY - Terminal 5 ("Short of It") *
11-03 Boston, MA - Orpheum ("Long of It") *
11-04 Boston, MA - Orpheum ("Short of It") *
11-06 Winston-Salem, NC - Millennium Center ("Long of It") *
11-07 Winston-Salem, NC - Millennium Center ("Short of It") *
11-09 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ("Long of It") *
11-10 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ("Short of It") *
11-11 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ("Long of It") *
11-12 Washington, DC - 9:30 Club ("Short of It") *
11-15 Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion ("Long of It") *
11-16 Columbus, OH - Lifestyle Communities Pavilion ("Short of It") *
11-18 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater ("Long of It") *
11-19 Milwaukee, WI - Riverside Theater ("Short of It") *
11-23 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ("Long of It") *
11-24 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ("Short of It") *
11-25 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ("Long of It") *
11-26 San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore ("Short of It") *
11-29 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern ("Long of It") *
11-30 Los Angeles, CA - The Wiltern ("Short of It") *
12-01 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre ("Long of It") *
12-02 San Diego, CA - Spreckels Theatre ("Short of It") *
12-05 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom ("Long of It") *
12-06 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom ("Short of It") *
12-07 Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom *
12-08 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre ("Long of It") *
12-09 Seattle, WA - Moore Theatre ("Short of It") *

! with Land of Talk
* with Laura Veirs and Saltbreakers