Fleet Foxes

The residue lingers. The D Man still has swelling harmonies rising in his chest. Mrs. D Man and I enjoyed Fleet Foxes on a lovely summer night, the breeze trailing down through the mouth of the canyon and circling in the gentle ravine. Even the company was great, offsetting some of the scenesters there for anything but the music. The Harringtons brought soothing concert experience and delivered with the cheese and crackers. The Crocketts aced the root beer and supplied the chairs (after somehow managing to bring them up the hill on their bikes). Sitting under the stars, The D Man wondered whether the pioneers overlooking the valley from near this spot could have envisioned such a carefree evening. Thanks to them, too, and thanks to the Seattle-based band for bringing the tunes.

• The Cascades.
• Grown Ocean. One of the best tracks from Helplessness Blues. Too bad the canyon wind had yet to die down, as it warped some of the sound coming from the speakers.
• Drops in the River. A fantastic track from the band's debut Sun Giant EP.
• Battery Kinzie.
• Bedouin Dress.
• Sim Sala Bim.
• Mykonos. For The D Man, this is when the concert officially started. The wind had settled, allowing Pecknold's warm vocal power to emanate throughout the amphitheater. The song's deep history sounded huge and vital. Thrilling even. Brother you don't need to turn me away. I was waiting down at the ancient gate. Maybe the best moment of the night.
• Your Protector.
• Tiger Mountain Peasant Song.
• White Winter Hymnal. The D Man called this one of the best songs of the new century. Hearing it live consummated its peculiar genius, its inherent feeling that it has been around for centuries, sung in the round by travelers on some Chaucerian trek. Its harmonic past is almost palpable.
• Ragged Wood. The band ripped right into "Ragged Wood," a glorious three-suite strummer that will make your bones shiver even in late summer. The band plays harder than you would imagine on some of these songs.
• Lorelai.
• Montezuma.
• He Doesn't Know Why.
• The Shrine / An Argument.
• Blue Ridge Mountains. I love you, I love you, oh brother of mine. Arguably the definitive song in the band's catalog, Pecknold's forest-glen mysticism is a conjurer's art, especially when you consider he penned this song at about 20 years of age.
• Blue Spotted Tail.
• Encore
• Oliver James. Pecknold front and center, alone with a guitar. His soaring voice calling out Oliver James. Question: Why in the night sky are the lights hung? Answer: On this night, just for this.
• Helplessness Blues. The most brilliant mid-song shift of the year; the song's second half is a fleeting burst of imaginative clarity and harmony. With two classic American albums under his belt before the age of 25, Pecknold (and company) have created something timely and timeless.