The Shins covered all the bases last night at LA’s Greek Theater. It seemed that no stone was left unturned, whether you were tried and true B-Sides collecting Shins devotee, or a casual Shins mix tape listener, or anywhere in between, you left this show satisfied. Photo from Pitchfork Media
Openers the Shaky Hands did a decent job of getting the crowd ready to jump into hipster hyperspace, though their set seemed to get a little sloppier as the set went on. Maybe I wasn’t appreciating the rawness of the songs they played later in the set, but I’m thinking it’s because they opened with a few sweeter/poppier tunes that had me think I was going to hear a nice Portland pop set, oh well.
Here’s the thing about the Shins, it’s all about the music. This is a good thing, right? These guys are the anti-rockstars, the anti-showman. I’m not sure anti-showman is the right term because they move around the stage and show off that Albuquerque wit between songs, while “anti-showman” brings to mind Oasis or Black Rebel Motorcycle club or really any shoegaze band of the last decade, but I’m saying these guys didn’t attract a lot of focus. Again though, does it matter? James Mercer isn’t doing any David Lee Roth splits (can DLR even do those splits anymore? Tune in next month and see) but sound wise this is right on. The sound system at the Greek is awesome anyway, and James’ glass-like voice is always so right on you want to accuse him of pulling an Ashlee.
In the end, one of the best-sounding shows I’ve ever been to, hell they even came back for their encore with Pink Floyd’s “Breathe” which was unexpected and awesome. They may want to study the book of Floyd a bit more and incorporate some giant props into the stage show to enhance the music, otherwise it’s like a bunch of people getting together for a listening party.
