The past two Decemberists shows I’ve attended have involved majestic intra-audience duels and unparalleled group storytelling something like prophet-eering set to lush, carnivalesque folk-prog (i.e. “frog”). Last night’s sold-out show at the Benedum was a bit more sedated and straightforward –- as is proper in the wake of the band’s latest release, the more sedated and straightforwardly folky The King Is Dead.

I’m pretty sure it was Gillan Welch — from whom I’ve heard nothing since 2003’s exquisite Soul Journey — up there, fiddling like mad and doing vocals to the tracks she accompanied on the album. Incredibly enjoyable, but still, a girl can yearn for Shara Worden’s spectrally demented version of “The Wanting Comes in Waves/Repaid.”