Inspiration: Gigs
Created: Thu 10 Feb 2005 13:12
I didn't really manage to get any decent photos of The Shins at last night's Corner Hotel gig, because it was sold out, and I arrived late. As a result, it was completely packed, and I had to do a bit of pushing and prodding to get myself close enough just to be able to catch glimpses of the band in between other people's shoulders. The place was about 10°C hotter than it was outside, and just before the band began, I got a little worried and started scoping out my nearest fire exits. On reflection, what I should have done was scope out the nearest bar from which to purchase something rehydrating. But before I knew it, the band ambled on stage, and I wasn't moving an inch.
The Shins' live sound is a lot more raw than their recorded stuff. By comparison, the albums seem quite well polished, which, given their style, is not necessarily a bad thing. For the live show, though, the more rocking, messy versions suited me just fine. In fact, they appeared to suit a whole lot of people just fine, because the crowd was full of people making loud appreciative noises throughout the proceedings - moreso than any gig I've been to in a while. At one point, a guy behind us, having been quite silent thus far, was compelled to shout out a certain portion of the lyrics. Taking a peek back at him, he was clearly lost in the moment. I had to chuckle to myself.
One of my show highlights was the between-song banter from keyboardist Marty Crandall ("Today... I did something really stupid... I wrote the same song on the setlist twice... I fucking rule!"). In contrast, one of the strange moments was the performance of New Slang, i.e. that song from the Garden State soundtrack, i.e. that song that made them famous. The reason that this was strange was that I spent most of the song trying to figure out whether James Mercer was suddenly struggling to hit the correct notes, or whether grimacing whilst singing that song is quite normal for him. I'm still not sure.
According to the sign out the front, the gig was scheduled to go for an hour and a half, but when they had played both Caring is Creepy and New Slang before the one-hour mark, I knew that they wouldn't be able to stretch their set out that long, and it was all over about an hour and 15 minutes after it began. Not altogether surprising considering that their two albums are each only just over half an hour long. Still, while it lasted, I greatly enjoyed it, and I'm sure that those going along to tonight's sold-out show have a fun night ahead of them.
Audience stereotype spotted: the ballad sing-a-long crowd. This audience was particularly into singing along for the quiet bits, and they busted out their voices three or four times during the night. Sometimes, this kind of thing is a tremendous pain in the bum, but in the right circumstances, a good ol' vocal workout adds a special atmosphere to the air, and this was the case last night. Magic.
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Posted by bellablue (site) on Sun 13 Mar 2005 12:30 #