The Shins get a bit jammy in cavernous Palladium
Kevin Bronson on
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[I was under the weather over the weekend, so Friend of Buzz Bands Lisa Taylor tells me what I missed at the Sunday’s Shins show:]
By Lisa Taylor
Something strange was afoot at the Shins show at the Palladium on Sunday night. I have seen band four or five times previously; sadly, I don’t think I will be going back.
The show got off to a strong start with “Australia.” The crowd was happily singing along to the nonsensical lyrics. They played my favorite Shins song of all time, “St. Simon,” as their third song so I had little to look forward to and lots of time to observe the motionless crowd. Sometime around “Sea Legs” it started to feel like a Phish show. I blame the sound guy for his heavy use of bass coupled with the cavernous feel of the venue and color-changing strips of light on the stage. Or maybe it was the awkward couple next to us, clearly on a wonderful strain of Ecstasy. Regardless, it got a bit too jam-band for a Shins show.
The show included two covers, the Beach Boys’ “Girl Don’t Tell Me,” which James Mercer dedicated to his wife. Perhaps they are in a fight or having problems – if not, it’s an odd dedication. The second cover (which opened the encore) was Neil Young’s “Helpless,” which caused the guys behind me to utter, “Finally a song I know!” They also played a new track, “Double Bubble,” and the crowd was instructed to dance, which they did not.
And of course they played “New Slang,” and for a brief moment all of our lives were changed.
Photo courtesy of Jaymie Miguel
That’s a bummer. Hope the new material sounds good on disc/vinyl.
you missed the guy interpretive/break dancing in the back during sea legs and sleeping lessons.
it was awesome.
but yeah the rest of the crowd was lame, and they did get a bit jammy, like you said.
i like the new stuff but i miss marty crandall. he was the life on that stage.
oh well.