The Shins (@the Barrowlands in Glasgow, March 25, 2007)
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I've been asked to write a review of The Shins' March 25 concert at the Barrowlands (okay, more like I asked if I could write it) for everyone's favorite alternative music society here at the University. To do so I'm going to write up an informal one here for moggers (informal because it's about two or three weeks late) and then clean it up to be published.
Anyway, I guess I should preface anything I say by admitting ("admitting?" I mean "loudly proclaiming") that I love The Shins. I thankfully got into them before the popularity explosion of Garden State. This is part one of this post: "I'm a smug Shins fan." From Oh, Inverted World (2001) and Chutes Too Narrow (2003) I cultivated, carefully honed and accepted my musical taste as worthy and interesting. I am an alt-indie girl! I like alt-indie music! Surely that is something to be proud of. The Shins therefore mean a lot to me; they were the first band I was proud to admit I liked, and like them I sure do. They're not just a great band. They're legitimate. With their indie street-cred and genuinely appealing music, The Shins represent a veritable bridge between pop and indie, as was evidenced by Wincing The Night Away's stellar debut in American charts (and the subsequent riffing they got from the amazing Cat and Girl webcartoonist Dorothy Gambrell in this issue of Cat and Girl). So it was with no small sense of excitement that I got Wincing The Night Away (as a surprise-random gift from my mother, bless her heart) and settled down to love it.
Of course, nothing's that simple. I don't know what I expected. Something different from their old albums would have bothered me, and something similar, as delightful as Chutes and Inverted World are, would have bored me. Wincing has a lot of the old Shins formula: an opening track that goes from tremulous shade to full-frontal crescendo so very pleasantly (Sleeping Lessons), a closing track that puts you to sleep (A Comet Appears), and plump alt-goodies in between. There's the obvious single (Phantom Limb), the sleeper hits (Sea Legs, Australia), and even a throwback to the abstract one-minute-weirdness a few of Inverted World less approachable tracks (Pam Berry). And yet...
And yet there's something missing. Maybe it's the luscious reverb of Inverted World. Maybe it's the naked frivolity of Chutes. Maybe it's the lyrics that are different. Maybe it's the polish of a veteran band, no longer awkward in its adolescent fumblings. Or maybe it's me. Maybe I've grown up, and out, of The Shins.
Naw.
So when The Shins extended their tour to Glasgow after initial plans to only dip their toes in London, I jumped at the chance to see one of my favorite bands in action. Assembling a motley crew of Shins fans of all degrees (from habitual dabbler to adept) we descended on Glasgow (Glesgae to natives). The gig was originally to be held in ABC 1, a smaller but upscale venue on Sauciehall Street, but demand exceeded capacity and thus there was a last-minute move to the Barrowlands. Having been to the Barrowlands for both the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Arcade Fire gigs, I felt intimately acquainted with this particular venue, and therefore not particularly bothered. Maybe I should have worried about how the venue size would affect the performance, but this didn't occur to me until later.
Later (ha), I missed a smaller venue. The Barrowlands was packed, mostly with tweeny indie-girls with fringes. Due to an executive decision to eat dinner first we missed the first act (Jeremy Warmsley) and half the second act (Viva Voce), but I felt okay with that. After all, I was there to see The Shins. Everything else was just...superfluous. Bad beer and tweeny indie-girls: superfluous. Squashed feet and a surprisingly dense crowd: superfluous. Huge tall guy in front of me, blocking the stage: superfluous. Etc.
The band took the stage pretty quickly after Viva Voce's departure. James Mercer (the lead singer) sported a dashing beard but was outwardly subdued (maybe he was tired, what with his highly-publicised insomnia, poor guy), while the rest of the band seemed pretty revved on the wings of success and ready to go. They launched right away into Sleeping Lessons, the first (and my favorite) track off Wincing. So I thought: "Excellent! Great!" And, right when things get started, everyone starts dancing...but it soon became apparent that something was wrong. Some jangling discordant note hovers above the crowd, and everyone stops dancing and stares hard.
They aren't as good as they are live as they are on record. And hey, if that's the harshest blow I can level at a band, then fine. I'm hairsplitting, big deal. A bad live performance could be the result of many things: bad acoustics, bad setup, and hell, maybe James Mercer was really tired. And in fact, I shouldn't have been surprised. One of the key features of The Shins' recorded work is its wary intimacy and awkward fumbling, rather like a first kiss or a clumsy kitten. Their records are charmingly cautious and almost unbearably familiar with their self-deprecating lyrics, charming tunes, and James Mercer's unique, almost bleating vocals ("bleating" is used here in the least pejorative sense possible; I love James Mercer's voice).
Okay, that kitten-ful description is a little less than apt, but I guess everyone expected that sort of intimacy to transfer to the stage. And that's not their fault. I can't blame them for that.
I can, however, blame The Shins for the most predictable setlist of all time. They followed the first track of the new album with the following three tracks. Yes indeed, folks, The Shins played the first four tracks straight off their new album (Sleeping Lessons, Australia, Pam Berry). And then they played the first three tracks off Chutes. And so on.
For those of you who are interested, here's the setlist, but I can promise you the setlist was very disappointing for its predictability.
Sleeping Lessons/Australia/Pam Berry/Phantom Limb/Kissing The Lipless/Mine's Not A High Horse/Girl Inform Me/Girl On The Winig/New Slang/Saint Simon/Girl Sailor/Turn A Square/Gone For Good/A Comet Appears/Turn On Me/Caring Is Creepy/Know Your Onion
Of course, I shouldn't complain that much because they did play all my favorite songs from their previous albums. And inded, there was the requisite cover of a Modern Lovers song (Someone I Care About) sandwiched between Pink Bullets and So Says I. It was a good setlist. A safe setlist. A boring setlist.
I still liked it. There was something missing, yes, but I'm not sure what it was. Dave Hernandez (the guitarist) was probably the most interesting band member to watch what with his guitar-wankery* and crowd interaction, and he actually got off the stage to wail on his guitar while perched on a railing (I know, I know, The Shins never wail on guitars, but if you saw him go you might change your opinion on that). Martin Crandall (the keyboardist/bass guitarist) also took some time to interact with the crowd, and was generally amusing and crowd-pleasing with his hobbit-like looks and keyboard-mashing. James Mercer, though...I honestly felt bad for the guy. He seemed genuinely exhausted, and so taciturn and withdrawn that I wanted to send him bed with a warm glass of milk and a kiss on his troubled brow. He spoke only once or twice to the crowd, to thank them, but softly and without real interest.
This, of course, was reflected in his performance. He still rocked the house, I think, and the band tried to pick up where he left off, but outside their own superb efforts, something just felt like it was missing. Maybe it was Sea Legs. I know, I know, they didn't play their second single the entire night? Bizarre. I almost swore it would be included in the encore, but I guess they were sick of it. It's certainly not my favorite off their new album, indeed, but I was really surprised it wasn't there. Or maybe what was missing was that certain playful cautiousness that comes with their recorded stuff, the so-called fumbling kitten effect.
Or maybe, again, it's just me. Maybe I've grown up and out of the self-deprecating lyrics I love off of Chutes and Inverted World. Maybe I've moved on.
Nahh. The Shins still rock my flippin' socks off. They were just a little tired. Poor guys. *"guitar wankery" refers to the actions some guitar players engage in to emphasize how cool they are. This can be done with great effect and excellent results, or can be really annoying. Symptoms include: smug or excessive use of soloing and other techniques such as shrills, taps, slaps & pops, slides, bends, sweeps. David Hernandez is awesome so he wanked a good wank, rather than a smug annoying one. Well played, Sir.
Anyway, I guess I should preface anything I say by admitting ("admitting?" I mean "loudly proclaiming") that I love The Shins. I thankfully got into them before the popularity explosion of Garden State. This is part one of this post: "I'm a smug Shins fan." From Oh, Inverted World (2001) and Chutes Too Narrow (2003) I cultivated, carefully honed and accepted my musical taste as worthy and interesting. I am an alt-indie girl! I like alt-indie music! Surely that is something to be proud of. The Shins therefore mean a lot to me; they were the first band I was proud to admit I liked, and like them I sure do. They're not just a great band. They're legitimate. With their indie street-cred and genuinely appealing music, The Shins represent a veritable bridge between pop and indie, as was evidenced by Wincing The Night Away's stellar debut in American charts (and the subsequent riffing they got from the amazing Cat and Girl webcartoonist Dorothy Gambrell in this issue of Cat and Girl). So it was with no small sense of excitement that I got Wincing The Night Away (as a surprise-random gift from my mother, bless her heart) and settled down to love it.
Of course, nothing's that simple. I don't know what I expected. Something different from their old albums would have bothered me, and something similar, as delightful as Chutes and Inverted World are, would have bored me. Wincing has a lot of the old Shins formula: an opening track that goes from tremulous shade to full-frontal crescendo so very pleasantly (Sleeping Lessons), a closing track that puts you to sleep (A Comet Appears), and plump alt-goodies in between. There's the obvious single (Phantom Limb), the sleeper hits (Sea Legs, Australia), and even a throwback to the abstract one-minute-weirdness a few of Inverted World less approachable tracks (Pam Berry). And yet...
And yet there's something missing. Maybe it's the luscious reverb of Inverted World. Maybe it's the naked frivolity of Chutes. Maybe it's the lyrics that are different. Maybe it's the polish of a veteran band, no longer awkward in its adolescent fumblings. Or maybe it's me. Maybe I've grown up, and out, of The Shins.
Naw.
So when The Shins extended their tour to Glasgow after initial plans to only dip their toes in London, I jumped at the chance to see one of my favorite bands in action. Assembling a motley crew of Shins fans of all degrees (from habitual dabbler to adept) we descended on Glasgow (Glesgae to natives). The gig was originally to be held in ABC 1, a smaller but upscale venue on Sauciehall Street, but demand exceeded capacity and thus there was a last-minute move to the Barrowlands. Having been to the Barrowlands for both the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Arcade Fire gigs, I felt intimately acquainted with this particular venue, and therefore not particularly bothered. Maybe I should have worried about how the venue size would affect the performance, but this didn't occur to me until later.
Later (ha), I missed a smaller venue. The Barrowlands was packed, mostly with tweeny indie-girls with fringes. Due to an executive decision to eat dinner first we missed the first act (Jeremy Warmsley) and half the second act (Viva Voce), but I felt okay with that. After all, I was there to see The Shins. Everything else was just...superfluous. Bad beer and tweeny indie-girls: superfluous. Squashed feet and a surprisingly dense crowd: superfluous. Huge tall guy in front of me, blocking the stage: superfluous. Etc.
The band took the stage pretty quickly after Viva Voce's departure. James Mercer (the lead singer) sported a dashing beard but was outwardly subdued (maybe he was tired, what with his highly-publicised insomnia, poor guy), while the rest of the band seemed pretty revved on the wings of success and ready to go. They launched right away into Sleeping Lessons, the first (and my favorite) track off Wincing. So I thought: "Excellent! Great!" And, right when things get started, everyone starts dancing...but it soon became apparent that something was wrong. Some jangling discordant note hovers above the crowd, and everyone stops dancing and stares hard.
They aren't as good as they are live as they are on record. And hey, if that's the harshest blow I can level at a band, then fine. I'm hairsplitting, big deal. A bad live performance could be the result of many things: bad acoustics, bad setup, and hell, maybe James Mercer was really tired. And in fact, I shouldn't have been surprised. One of the key features of The Shins' recorded work is its wary intimacy and awkward fumbling, rather like a first kiss or a clumsy kitten. Their records are charmingly cautious and almost unbearably familiar with their self-deprecating lyrics, charming tunes, and James Mercer's unique, almost bleating vocals ("bleating" is used here in the least pejorative sense possible; I love James Mercer's voice).
Okay, that kitten-ful description is a little less than apt, but I guess everyone expected that sort of intimacy to transfer to the stage. And that's not their fault. I can't blame them for that.
I can, however, blame The Shins for the most predictable setlist of all time. They followed the first track of the new album with the following three tracks. Yes indeed, folks, The Shins played the first four tracks straight off their new album (Sleeping Lessons, Australia, Pam Berry). And then they played the first three tracks off Chutes. And so on.
For those of you who are interested, here's the setlist, but I can promise you the setlist was very disappointing for its predictability.
Sleeping Lessons/Australia/Pam Berry/Phantom Limb/Kissing The Lipless/Mine's Not A High Horse/Girl Inform Me/Girl On The Winig/New Slang/Saint Simon/Girl Sailor/Turn A Square/Gone For Good/A Comet Appears/Turn On Me/Caring Is Creepy/Know Your Onion
Of course, I shouldn't complain that much because they did play all my favorite songs from their previous albums. And inded, there was the requisite cover of a Modern Lovers song (Someone I Care About) sandwiched between Pink Bullets and So Says I. It was a good setlist. A safe setlist. A boring setlist.
I still liked it. There was something missing, yes, but I'm not sure what it was. Dave Hernandez (the guitarist) was probably the most interesting band member to watch what with his guitar-wankery* and crowd interaction, and he actually got off the stage to wail on his guitar while perched on a railing (I know, I know, The Shins never wail on guitars, but if you saw him go you might change your opinion on that). Martin Crandall (the keyboardist/bass guitarist) also took some time to interact with the crowd, and was generally amusing and crowd-pleasing with his hobbit-like looks and keyboard-mashing. James Mercer, though...I honestly felt bad for the guy. He seemed genuinely exhausted, and so taciturn and withdrawn that I wanted to send him bed with a warm glass of milk and a kiss on his troubled brow. He spoke only once or twice to the crowd, to thank them, but softly and without real interest.
This, of course, was reflected in his performance. He still rocked the house, I think, and the band tried to pick up where he left off, but outside their own superb efforts, something just felt like it was missing. Maybe it was Sea Legs. I know, I know, they didn't play their second single the entire night? Bizarre. I almost swore it would be included in the encore, but I guess they were sick of it. It's certainly not my favorite off their new album, indeed, but I was really surprised it wasn't there. Or maybe what was missing was that certain playful cautiousness that comes with their recorded stuff, the so-called fumbling kitten effect.
Or maybe, again, it's just me. Maybe I've grown up and out of the self-deprecating lyrics I love off of Chutes and Inverted World. Maybe I've moved on.
Nahh. The Shins still rock my flippin' socks off. They were just a little tired. Poor guys. *"guitar wankery" refers to the actions some guitar players engage in to emphasize how cool they are. This can be done with great effect and excellent results, or can be really annoying. Symptoms include: smug or excessive use of soloing and other techniques such as shrills, taps, slaps & pops, slides, bends, sweeps. David Hernandez is awesome so he wanked a good wank, rather than a smug annoying one. Well played, Sir.
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