When NPR Music started inviting musicians to perform at Bob Boilen’s desk back in 2008, we never could have expected that we’d one day host The Dismemberment Plan. For one, the D.C.-area group had long since disbanded; for another, its fleshed-out and periodically funky sound wouldn’t seem to lend itself to vastly stripped-down arrangements. When the newly re-formed band finally did make its way to our offices — on the heels of Uncanney Valley, its first album in 12 years — it unsurprisingly made for an odd fit.
According to the group, these particular arrangements of songs from Uncanney Valley were sorted out just a day before this Tiny Desk Concert; after singer Travis Morrison flubbed the call-and-response portion of “Let’s Just Go to the Dogs Tonight,” he professed nervousness at making the NPR staff holler F-bombs. (No one seemed to mind.) As always, though, The Dismemberment Plan wears its ramshackle qualities well, exuding playfulness and wry charm throughout this set.
Set List
- “Let’s Just Go To The Dogs Tonight”
- “Lookin'”
- “Daddy Was a Real Good Dancer”
Credits
Producers: Bob Boilen, Denise DeBelius; Audio Engineer: Kevin Wait; Videographers: Denise DeBelius, Becky Harlan, Abbey Oldham; photo by Meredith Rizzo/NPR
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