930 Forums
=> GENERAL DISCUSSION => Topic started by: you be betty on January 19, 2007, 07:49:00 pm
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anyone else get their hands on a pre-release? what do you think?
i'm on my fourth or fifth listen right now, and am finding it absolutely incredible.
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how does it compare to their older stuff?
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Weaker - in my opinion.
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Completely different than Chutes too Narrow, more in the realm of Oh Inverted World, but won't have the commercial appeal for the Zach Braff audience. And I absolutely love it.
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Based on the handful of songs I've heard, I agree with ggw.
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It is weaker than Oh, Inverted World, but vastly superior to Chutes to Narrow. It has much more sonic depth than either album, much higher production values than either - I know that turns many people off, but in this album i think it works.
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Having had enough time to absorb the whole thing, I think the band deliberately made an LP that will keep them from becoming too huge. It's a good record. Highlights for me are easily "Sea Legs", "Australia", and "Black Wave". But when the catchiest and most accessible song turns out to be an "alternate" version of "Split Needles" (a b-side!), to me it says that they wanted to create an LP that is based mostly on atmosphere, dynamics, arrangements, and mood. To me there is nothing on it as immediate as "Saint Simon" or "New Slang". It's just a very different record and I think it was made to challenge listeners. You have to work harder to enjoy it. I wish I could strip out the horrible synth "strings" on the LP version of "Split Needles". That's my most major complaint though.
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It's just a very different record and I think it was made to challenge listeners. You have to work harder to enjoy it.
Sounds like you're describing a Taylor Hicks album. I don't want to "work harder" to enjoy an album. My job is work. Music is entertainment.
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Steny Hoyer, Do I Make You Proud?
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No, I think what you are trying to say is that it's a little deeper than their other stuff. I felt that too...it is a different album, but it works.
It feels a little more serious where some of their older stuff felt more whimsical and spontaneous (all the "oooooo"-ing and handclaps and funny little riffs)...which I like a lot, either way. But the production quality is higher, too, and it comes together feeling very tight where the others felt the least cohesive.
I love all of their stuff. It should not disappoint. At this point in their career, the album really works.
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The only Shins I currently have is Oh Inverted World... if I wished to expand, should I go forward with this one, or backward with something else?
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Well geez, they only have three albums.
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Well I need to know which one to ask my album buyer to purchase.
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Only heard it a couple times through, and I was less than impressed. Very different from Chutes. I am a bit disappointed, as I had high hopes for this one.
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alex i can send them if you want
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Weakest so far, but it IS still the Shins. Definitely not a throw away.
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After a couple more listens I still find this the weakest of their albums.
I predict that "A Comet Appears" will feature prominently in an unrequited love or breakup scene on a TV drama sometime this season.
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I really enjoy it so far. It's not their best, but its still really good.
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by far the weakest of their albums, although there are definitely great moments on it, and it's better than 90% of most other albums
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Well put Hoya.
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this album is a heavyhanded bore. i understand them not wanting to make something that sounded exactly like either of the first two, but there's something to be said for sticking with what you do well. hopefully next time they'll do that and not make one of the longest 40-minute albums ever.
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Listen here. (http://music.aol.com/songs/new_releases_full_cds)
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The Post seems to agree with you all:
CD
Wincing the Night Away
The Shins
Sub Pop
$15.98
BASIC STORY:
Beach Boys II Men? Shins singer (and Brian Wilson fetishist) James Mercer helps his beloved indie troupe catch a wave into more mature waters.
SAMPLE GRAB:
"This goose is cooked/These tongues are tied/Around the block an airborne blight/But looking on the brighter side/There's far less to which I'll be obliged"
-- "Black Wave"
WHAT YOU'LL LOVE:
Mercer is channeling new influences, most noticeably the saddest of all sacks, Morrissey.
WHAT YOU WON'T:
The only minor growing pain: The band loses its ethereal touch here and there.
-- C.R.
GRADE: A-
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ggw waxed philosohical with:I predict that "A Comet Appears" will feature prominently in an unrequited love or breakup scene on a TV drama sometime this season.
"Turn on Me" was on The OC two weeks ago.
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a um 'friend of mine' has had it for months
its pretty great
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I've had it since November and it's pretty much boring crap.
The Shins are a weak version of the beach boys.
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J. Free's review (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/22/AR2007012201405.html)
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The Shins and James Mercer got name-checked on SportsCenter last night.
During the highlights of the Duke-Tennessee women's basketball game.
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But when will they be on Rockline? Once you're on Rockline, you've made it.
http://www.rocklineradio.com/ (http://www.rocklineradio.com/)
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was it some stupid "candace parker is to the lady vols what james mercer is to the shins" line? i can't stand those, is that john buccigross' catch phrase?
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It was "so-and-so is on fire -- like James Mercer of the Shins. The new album drops tomorrow."
I'm pretty sure it was John Anderson.
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As terrible as Sportscenter is these days, that's pretty cool.
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they frequently have incredibly forced and contrived references to indie music on sportscenter
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Isn't every catch phrase forced and contrived?
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clearly stu scott's come str8 from the heart
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I hadn't kept up with Sportscenter recently. I can't stand that it has become little more than a promotional tool for events broadcast or produced by the Disney entertainment family.
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sportscenter + dvr = 10 minutes of gold
all the synergy on espn/abc/disney makes me want to puke
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I have no idea what you guys are talking about... but I'm liking the new stuff. When I first heard "Oh Inverted World," on someone else's stereo, it grabbed me and I had to know what it was... this doesn't have the same grabbing effect but it's good...
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Picked up Wincing last night, and it's getting a second listen now. I don't really think it's much of a drop-off, although it is weaker than the previous two albums. In fact, I think it starts off pretty strong and only really lacks during some of the more subdued tracks. But then again, I think the same thing of the other two discs as well.
It is missing the mysterious quality that the first record had; the production on it always made me feel like it was a album that was just "discovered" lying around somewhere, recorded sometime in the past and just stumbled up. Not that I'm a strict lo-fi-ist, but the crisper sound of Chutes really turned me off a bit at first.
It's also missing a lot of the pop that made Chutes such a fun listen, although I'm definitely thinking this album would have fared a little better if it had come out in the warmer weather months. Some of it I can already see playing on a nice drive to the beach with the windows down.
The new Deerhoof, on the other hand, rules...
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This was one I bought when it was on sale on Target last nite. I wanted to get this cd because The Shin's song The New Slang was a very good Rock song. I dont know if you listeners here have been paying close attention on song2 on this album there is Banjo! That is not Rock. Also song5 ( i think) is Disco! Not what I wanted from a good Rock band. I would return this cd but I threw it out the van window on hearing these songs. I could not find it when I went back, there were too many cars on the road. I would say: Beware of The Shins, they are No Longer Rock.
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What the fuck just happened?
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I wonder if there's any chance for a presale (given that I will be boarding an airplane around the time that tix go on sale)...anyone hear of anything yet?
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The Shins are the new Nirvana....
FACE THE MUSIC
By CHRISTOPHER JOHN FARLEY
Following in Cobain's Footsteps
The Great Expectations Faced by the Shins
Recall Nirvana's Ascent to Alt-Rock Glory
February 14, 2007
Welcome to Face the Music, a new Online Journal column about music past and present.
In the 2004 movie "Garden State," there's a scene in which Natalie Portman hands her headphones over to Zach Braff and declares: "You gotta hear this one song -- it'll change your life."
I remember leaning forward in my seat in the theater after that line. Could any composition live up to that kind of hype? The song that then swelled over the soundtrack was "New Slang" by the Shins. Much later, when I was researching the band's background on the Web, I had to smile at the historical connection. The Shins shared a label with another group that was forced to grapple with great expectations: Nirvana.
Last month the Shins released their third and most buzzed-about album, "Wincing the Night Away," on the Seattle-based indie label Sub Pop Records. They recently performed on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" -- a coup for a band that has yet to score a gold record. The band's new single "Phantom Limb" performed well on the rock charts. And while the Shins' debut album, "Oh, Inverted World," only shipped 2,700 copies in its first week, "Wincing the Night Away" shipped an impressive 250,000 copies. The album also debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts, selling 118,000 copies in its first week -- a huge commercial breakthrough for a previously low-profile act. (Before that, the highest the Shins had been on the album charts was No. 86.)
<img src="http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/OB-AH203_wsj_sh_20070212141721.jpg" alt=" - " />
The Shins
Some purists are griping that the Shins aren't truly an indie band since media giant Time Warner owns a minority stake in Sub Pop. While many reviews of the new record are positive, some critics have complained that the band played it too safe in a bid for sales. So the pressure is on and the knives are out: Will a group that formed in 1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, end up going Hollywood? Will the band be able to live up to the heavy promotion and retain its indie charm?
Nirvana faced some of the same kinds of questions when they released their third studio album, "In Utero," in 1993. Nirvana's 1989 debut album, "Bleach," was an underground hit for Sub Pop, and the cries of "sell out!" from fans and critics began around its release, and only got louder as the band's popularity grew. Nirvana's second CD, "Nevermind," was a No. 1 smash that elbowed aside Michael Jackson on its rush to the top of the charts. By the time Nirvana came out with its third album, singer-guitarist Kurt Cobain, bassist Krist Novoselic and drummer Dave Grohl faced a deluge of criticism for courting mainstream stardom -- attacks that only subsided after Mr. Cobain's 1994 suicide.
<img src="http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/images/OB-AH202_wsj_ni_20070212141606.jpg" alt=" - " />
Nirvana
But by then Nirvana had made an indelible impact. The group helped usher in the era of alternative rock, which lasted for around a decade. (It should be noted that a number of earlier groups, such as R.E.M., Fugazi and the Pixies, laid the groundwork for Nirvana.) The success of "Nevermind," and the popularity of Nirvana's generational anthem "Smells Like Teen Spirit," helped make the world safe for Pearl Jam, Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Liz Phair, Sleater-Kinney and many others.
Many of these acts hated the labels -- such as "alternative rock" and "grunge" -- that the media attached to them. But many of these performers did share a common urge to make progressive music that pushed beyond the borders of mainstream pop. Groups such as the White Stripes, the Strokes, Death Cab for Cutie, TV on the Radio and the Shins are the heirs of that 1990s movement.
Is it still possible for a musical act to have the kind of cultural impact that Nirvana had in the 1990s? Music sales have been slumping for several years, in part due to illegal downloading. In the past, a hit album might sell more than five million copies. Now, an album is considered a smash if it sells a million or two.
And today's bands seem to have downsized their ambitions since the heyday of alternative rock. After all, in "Garden State," Ms. Portman's character promises music that will "change your life," not change the world. The members of Nirvana were taken by surprise by their band's success; the next Nirvana, whoever that may turn out to be, may also be an unexpected phenomenon.
When I talked to Stuart Meyer, the Shins' A&R person, he was bullish on the band's future. But even he didn't believe his group was poised for a Nirvana-sized breakthrough -- after all, Nirvana songs such as "Come As You Are" are still a staple on radio, more than a decade after their release.
Mr. Meyer notes that the two bands have "completely different" approaches to making music. While Nirvana's sound was often raw and expansive, the Shins' music is typically lush and sometimes unassuming.
"I don't think anything will really compare to Nirvana," he says. "That was a cultural and global juggernaut."
URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117129983781306004.html (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117129983781306004.html)
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what a horrible article, only the wall street journal ....
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Clearly the author doesn't understand. I can't think of any parallels between the 2 bands. Maybe James Mercer can start dating a trashy former-stripper turned junkie turned rock star.
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it's like he got most of the way through writing and "researching" this inane think-piece and realized that his half-baked theory was way off, and tried to rescue the article with some quote at the end tearing the whole thing apart
it's really embarrassing that an editor let this be published
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on a side note, damn they sold out of dar orchestra tickets fast.
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I couldn't get orchestra either...seems strange.
I ended up in Section D
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I had to buy 4 tickets...Section M, row E (which looks to be the second row?) Eh, it's fine. I saw them 2 nights at the Black Cat right up front, so I'm just happy to go.
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I just had 2 seats come up in Orch Row S and returned them.
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I pulled up four pairs of orchestra seats between rows S and HH. The new security code program they have sucks. I was batting below .500 on that.
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I got 4 in section F, but i've been to DAR and almost any seat is decent for a seated show since its not really all that big.
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Any thoughts on box seats? I just got 37, row A.
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for once i lucked out. i got a refresh at 10:00:01, got the first password right, and scored a pair of ORCH row O. the GF was online trying too, she was about 3 seconds behind me and didn't get anything on the floor.
those new ticketbastard capchkas (or whatever they're called) are HORRIBLE. now humans can't even understand them. half of them are illegible - no difference between zero and the letter O; 6 looks like G; K, Y and X all look the same... those test are meant to prove that we're not machines. given my success rate with them, i'm not human either. it's insulting.
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this was not nearly as hard to get tickets for as i thought it would be.
ORCH row F. about where i saw for death cab. not bad.
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Yeah that's what fucked me over...I went through four of them initially.
Oh well, Row D section R ain't bad, and I'm not complaining.
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bearman: high-res seating map available here: http://www.dar.org/pics/conthall/seatchrtbig.gif (http://www.dar.org/pics/conthall/seatchrtbig.gif) - so yup, second row (albeit at the back of the hall).
alex: Sec R Row D = front row of that section, unobstructed view!
dhinojwala: i'm a big fan of box seats at DAR, although yours is kinda far back. boxes always have a clear view of the stage. box seats are GA (and thus all row "A") - each box has 5 moveable chairs in it, first come first serve. get there early to grab the the best one(s).
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I must be getting old, because i went 0 for 4 at one point with those fucking letter/# combinations
I threw a bunch back and wound up with section T row J ... seems pretty decent, right?
there was no way i was sitting in one of the last 10 rows on the floor
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Hoya: I don't think it's a function of you getting old...I went through about 6 screens before I got something that looked like English letters and Arabic numerals. It was like the 7th row of the optometrist board.
Sweetcell: Thanks for the opinion & info on box seats. I've never been to a concert at DAR, although I've heard/read all kinds of horrible things about the acoustics there. I'm just hoping low expectations = reasonably good experience.
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i've been to about a dozen shows at DAR, and i've never noticed anything horrible with the sound. some shows were only so-so, but it's not like verizon which always sounds like shite. many a show has sounded great. then again, i've always scored seats in the front half of the hall where the PA might be overpowering back-of-the-room reverberation.
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Has anyone ever sat in section A at DAR? I have row D, seats 7 and 8, which appear to be against the wall. Will I be able to see anything?
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depends on the stage set-up, but i'd assume yes if they sold tickets in that section. i've been to shows where they hang side-stage curtains that entirely block the view of section A and V, in which case they don't sell tickets to those sections. as the high-res seatmap shows, you'll probably be sitting/standing in line with the frontmen of the band, so perfect profile view all night :)
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That is just what I was hoping, Sweetcell!
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Ain't that a kick?
The Shins?? indie credibility is being tested by big mainstream sales.
By TIMOTHY FINN
The Kansas City Star
In the latest issue of Rolling Stone (with Panic! At the Disco on the cover), James Mercer of the Shins discusses his band??s popularity.
In display type, the editors paraphrased his quote this way: ??Indie bands are becoming popular because people are sick of fakeness.?
There??s much to analyze in that short sentence, but let??s start with the premise that the Shins are an indie band. They??re on Sub Pop, the famous Seattle label, which likes to think of itself as an indie label.
But Sub Pop is almost half-owned (49 percent) by Warner Bros., which also owns 95 percent of Sub Pop??s distributor, ADA.
When the Shins?? new album, ??Wincing the Night Away,? landed at No. 2 on the Billboard charts the week of its release (about 110,000 copies sold), the label sent out a memo in which ADA??s president, Andy Allen, called the Shins?? chart performance ??an amazing milestone week in independent music.?
The press release goes on to laud the intense media blitz organized by Sub Pop, which included cover stories in Magnet, Paste and Filter and articles in Rolling Stone, Spin, Blender and GQ. It also included TV appearances on the David Letterman show, ??Saturday Night Live? and MTV??s ??Subterranean.?
The day my Rolling Stone arrived, I was shopping at a couple of big department stores that also sell recorded music. In each, ??Wincing? was given a prominent display, cheek by jowl with releases by John Mellencamp and the ??2007 Grammy Nominees? collection.
Like the CDs around it, ??Wincing? was tagged with a nice opening-week discount.
In the longer version of his quote, Mercer compares the rise of indie bands like his to the gentrification of old buildings and houses, such as the one he recently moved into in Portland, Ore.: ??Growing up in the age of Wal-Mart and 7-Eleven ?? which is the landscape of my youth ?? I??m craving authenticity.?
But only to a point, apparently. Wal-Mart is one of the big retailers offering ??Wincing? at a discount ($9.72 this week) on an end-of-aisle rack, right next to CDs by ??American Idol? Katharine McPhee and the randy rap quartet Pretty Ricky.
So where does the ??indie? line begin and end?
??The Shins are more indie than most bands because, at least on their first two albums, they recorded everything themselves, which gives them some indie credibility,? said Shannon Schlappi, who co-owns the Kansas City label Drama Club Records. ??And they have stayed true to their music, even on the new album. But as popular as they are right now, ??indie?? may be more a state of mind than reality.?
Not if you operate an independent music store and rely on bands like the Shins to bring in customers looking for under-the-radar music. Those stores are having a hard time competing with the major chains whose inventories these days include smaller, true-blue indie bands whose music is in the hands of large distributors. Best Buy, for example, is carrying new (and low-priced) CDs from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Of Montreal.
??As an indie merchant, it pains me,? said Steve Wilson, a musician and manager of Kief??s Downtown Music in Lawrence. (Wilson is also an occasional freelance music reviewer for The Star.) ??You like to think there is some indie fealty and some recognition for the roles stores like ours play in establishing artists?? careers. But it??s a ??what have you done for me lately?? world.?
Zach Hangauer, who owns Range Life Records in Lawrence, said it comes down to a choice that is not always in a band??s control.
??I can??t imagine anyone who makes real indie music or longtime indie fans who think that having a CD available at Wal-Mart is a good thing,? he said. ??There is just something inherent in that subculture that is counter to that. ? So you have this identity chasm between what??s good for sales and what??s good for the audience.
??But, to me, it seems like it??s more the influence of the old lumbering record industry and the huge retail distribution system than it is any ambitions from artists or bands.?
There is something more at stake in this than just semantics and credibility among music hipsters. Last month the Hollywood Reporter discussed a proposal by the Federal Communications Commission and its investigation into record-industry payola to radio broadcasters.
If adopted, a new FCC proposal would require radio stations to dedicate a certain amount of time to independently produced music. Schlappi said he has already seen movement in that direction with his label??s band, the Changes.
??We got added to WXRT in Chicago,? he said. ??And we were on Indie-103 in Los Angeles. So it seems like we??re in an easier time getting things like that going.?
So would bands in the Shins?? position qualify as independent? Mari Malcolm thinks so. She is the managing editor for music at Amazon.com, the largest online retailer. She thinks the Shins are the same band, but its audience is changing and growing.
??I think they??re still pushing the envelope creatively and still true to their spirit,? she said. ??But it??s kind of funny ? (Amazon) customers who bought the Shins also bought the new Norah Jones album.?
In fact, this week the two best-selling records at Amazon were Norah Jones?? ??Not Too Late? and the Shins?? ??Wincing.?
If that??s another sign that indie bands really are becoming more popular, Malcolm said, some of that has to do with how independent artists are getting their music heard without radio airplay. She mentions TV commercials that feature Cat Power (for diamonds), the Go! Team (Honda) and Iron & Wine (M&M??s).
One of the best examples of media-mixing, though, is the Shins?? getting two songs in the very mainstream movie ??Garden State.?
??Natalie Portman actually says their name in the movie,? Schlappi said. ??You can??t buy marketing like that. Well, maybe you can.?
In fact, he??s trying, though not necessarily on his own. No matter how small they are, bands and labels who want to succeed have to play with the big boys, at least while physical distribution is necessary.
Schlappi??s label uses Fontana Distribution, an affiliate of the behemoth Universal Music. Hangauer and his label just entered a deal with the very independent label Saddle Creek in Omaha. Its distributor: ADA, the Warner machine that distributes the Shins.
And then there??s the latest issue of Paste magazine, which features the Shins on the cover. Schlappi??s band, the Changes, is one of the ??Four to Watch? artists in the magazine. It also has the lead-off song on the 20-cut CD sampler. The Shins?? song is No. 2.
??You have to pay to get a song on that,? he said, ??but you figure they??d give the first cut to the band on the cover. Instead, it??s us. It??s a little victory, but we??re excited about it.?
He says it almost like a guy who just slipped one by a big band on a big label.
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People need to get over trying to decide whether or not something is "indie". At this point it's just another worthless, generic label, like "alternative", "modern rock", "college rock" or "bands-that-don't-really-sound-all-that-unique, but-they're-not-really-all-that-popular-yet-so-it's-hip-to -like-them."
Indie is the new mainstream.
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FYI, there are some obstructed seat tickets available in Section B.
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i'm going to guess section u is obstructed too? because that's definately what i just bought today. killer.
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seating chart: click central graphic on http://www.dar.org/conthall/seating.cfm (http://www.dar.org/conthall/seating.cfm)
section U is marked obstructed, but there are some decent views to be had (especially if your seat number is low, like 1 thru 3). sometimes a speaker stack might block part of the stage. definitely better than section V!
FYI - i *might* have a pair of orch left row P tickets to sell - i'll let y'all know if my friends decide they can't make it.
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Originally posted by sweetcell:
FYI - i *might* have a pair of orch left row P tickets to sell - i'll let y'all know if my friends decide they can't make it.
Did you know that March 12 is my birthday, and I'd really, really love to go? Just throwing that out there... :)
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hmm. i guess i'll have to wait and see how the ticket situation works itself out. is there much of a chance of "relocating" during the show"? i'm just glad i got tickets to get in the door -- now i just need to figure out what i can do while i'm in the place.
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reod - i'll keep you in mind, i probably won't find out until saturday evening. happy bday!
yohansen5b - ushers generally check tickets before letting you in to the orchestra section, so if you have box or tiered seats it's hard to make it down there. but within a section it isn't hard to move around to a better seat, assuming you can find a free seat to move to (not guaranteed given that this show is completely sold out).
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Them selling out DAR makes me think of seeing them open up for Modest Mouse at the Black Cat, thinking they were pretty good, and wondering who in the hell they were.
How things can change for a band in just a few years.
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Answer: Garden State movie and soundtrack made them big.
Originally posted by K8teebug:
How things can change for a band in just a few years.
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I've seen the Shins two or three times, and they just don't cut it as a live band. James Mercer has no personality and minimal stage presence. Marty Crandall does all of the talking, but he's like a nervous nerd who tries to be funny but fails miserably. He's painful to watch and listen to. And none of them are much to look at. They sound reasonably good, but stick pretty close to the original material.
Mind you, I say this as a big fan of their first two albums.
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Originally posted by K8teebug:
Them selling out DAR makes me think of seeing them open up for Modest Mouse at the Black Cat, thinking they were pretty good, and wondering who in the hell they were.
How things can change for a band in just a few years.
how about when they opened for red house painters? or when they opened for preston school of industry? along with that modest mouse show i saw them as openers three times in like a year, i think. they were always pleasant, not much more.
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I saw them in 2002 opening for Mercury Rev!
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Mark your calendars kids -- this is one of those rare occasions when I wholeheartedly agree with Rhett. Despite some fantastic material, the Shins shows disappoint.
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will there be an opening act at the shins show? any good?
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viva voce is opening.
what's the parking situation at DAR? i'm debating whether to drive or metro. will it be over by the time the metro closes?
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Originally posted by Harry Setatestes, Greek Bowler:
Marty Crandall does all of the talking, but he's like a nervous nerd who tries to be funny but fails miserably. He's painful to watch and listen to. And none of them are much to look at.
maybe not, but he's dating a model (http://elysesewell.livejournal.com/), and has been for some time now.
<img src="http://www.steppinoutmagazine.com/07_02_03/images/eylse3.jpg" alt=" - " />
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Originally posted by mutmup:
viva voce is opening.
what's the parking situation at DAR? i'm debating whether to drive or metro. will it be over by the time the metro closes?
if you don't mind walking 5 minutes, you're sure to find parking especially on a monday night. i bet there is a lot of space west of the venue, lots of gov't buildings around there. i usually park north of DAR, H/I/K street b/c i wanna grab a beer before and after.
i'll have to look up viva voce, never heard of them.
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Viva Voce caught my interest when their debut came out last year, mostly because they're a Barsuk band, and I love that label. I never really did end up checking them out, though.
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They were the band Silversun Pickups opened for at Iota.
Originally posted by sweetcell:
[QUOTE
i'll have to look up viva voce, never heard of them.
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any guesses as to times for each of the bands going on stage?
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it's a fairly safe bet that viva voce will hit the stage on or very shortly after 8:00, since that's what is printed on the ticket :) i'd think that the shins hit around 9, show's over about 10:30? maybe that's just my wishful thinking, since it's a school night...
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God, that would rule. A combination of the time change and trying to run in the morning has left me all but dead this morning :) i'd think that the shins hit around 9, show's over about 10:30? maybe that's just my wishful thinking, since it's a school night... [/b][/quote]
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FYI - I was just able to pull up a single floor seat at TM.
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They released orchestra seats last week (row M) but they were on the side...
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Did anyone ever find out set times for tonight? I'm not sure I can make it to see all of Viva Voce's set, but I definitely don't want to miss any of the Shins.
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I thought the show was fun - the band sounded amazing, much better than i expected.
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Dinner @ Kaz Sushi Bistro = B
Viva Voce = C-
Shins = B+
Opener was average...best part was hearing them announce their album title, "Get Your Blood Sucked Out." The Shins were good, not great. Crowd banter was awful. Highlight was "Gone For Good," played up-tempo and sounding like a long lost Old 97's song.
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I thought Viva Voce were horrible...thought the Shins were really great, not phenomenal but it was a solid show. It was kind of interesting to hear slightly different arrangements for songs like "New Slang". Would have loved to hear "One By One All Day" and "Pink Bullets", but heard everything else I wanted to hear. The crowd was a bit too chatty during songs, but the sound was better than I had anticipated. Definitely glad I saw them again.
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the shins sounded way, way better than i expected. i really enjoyed the show! there were still seats to be had in the "obstructed view" seats where i was (really, though, i thought the seats were pretty money). i liked the first few minutes of viva voce but lost it half way through.
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Oh yeah, loved the Modern Lovers cover of "Someone I Care About". That was a nice surprise.
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over-all, a slightly below-average outing for me. in hindsight, i might have skipped tonight - but that might be a function of all the really really good shows i've seen recently.
viva voce were downright unlistenable. when the singer/guitarist came out to do backup vocals during the shins set, my girlfriend exclaimed "so THAT's why they had the opening slot - she must be sleeping with someone in the shins!". for some reason it made sense at the time, maybe you had to be there.
the shins were indeed good, talented as all f*ck (various/alternate arrangements were indeed interesting), but not much of a live show. dear 930 board - mea culpa. you tried warning me, but i ignored you... i paid the price: $80 for a so-so show, money that would have been better spent on numerous other outings. they didn't do much with the large stage that they were given - little moving around, little in the way of a light show, etc. the impression that i left the show with: one of the larger gulfs between what fans thought of the band/expected of them; and what they delivered. it was indeed a very chatty crowd and energy wasn't consistent. i'd give the shins' performance a 6 out of 10. i recognize that after the dismal opening act, i might have been a lost cause.
in the past, i've been one to defend the sound at DAR. but after this show and last friday's (chuck brown + the roots), i'm starting to come around. maybe it has everything to do with the techie behind the board, but DAR can indeed sound less than stellar. a learning experience all around.
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Originally posted by sweetcell:
i'd give the shins' performance a 6 out of 10.
I'm about there with you... I'd rate it a little bit higher, given their song catalogue, they can't go wrong. I would have liked to hear a lot more off their new album. I believe they only played three (the first three songs of their set.) They sounded pretty good, but given the venue I feel the show was less than intimate. I saw them at Black Cat which was amazing and open for the White Stripes at Merriweather which was a short set but they made it count. I sat the entire show in the uppers, so this show was a lot different for me.
Anyone know what the first encore cover song was?
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i thought it was a fine show, obviously a complete 180 from the last time i saw them at a completely oversold, sweaty and smokey black cat ... this was the first time i've been to a "sit down" show in a while, and it kinda sapped a lot of my energy (especially after a long weekend)
a couple of observations: james mercer is no longer one of the most awkward frontmen ever, he takes center stage now, has a muted spotlight on him, and actually talked a bit between songs ... marty crandall is still more dumb than he is funny ... i was really happy with the setlist, pretty much all the old stuff i wanted to hear with a couple of the good songs on the new album (i was dreading one of those "all of the new album and a couple of old chestnuts in the encore" shows) ... we were sitting out in the lobby and people-watching while quaffing $6 12-oz amstel light cans and there were a lot more pleated khakis and baseball hats than leggings and ironic t-shirts
maybe it was just our section but i thought it was REALLY LOUD ... ears still ringing a bit
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the shins are a pretty good band, but they've sort of outgrown their usefulness as a live act. they aren't bad by any means, they just aren't that interesting. they're not gonna front and be full of fake energy, and that's cool, they just get up there and play solid versions of their solid songs. for $10 at the black cat that's fine, but it just doesn't seem worth $30 and dealing with DAR and the people that go to DAR. marty really reminds of some annoying chris parnell character (is there really any other kind?) and the guitarist looks like joe rogan doing a peter buck impression. for a while i thought the shins could be on their way to being the next REM, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards. i, too, was glad to hear lots of older stuff -- that new record is really kinda sucky, no? good band, glad people like them, still a bit surprised why they resonate so deeply with so many people. it can't all be beacuse of "garden state," can it?
for what it's worth, i got a kick out of viva voce, but i really like their last album. it was pretty funny to see some sorta-hippieish husband/wife duo from portland playing a song called "we do not fuck around" complete with double neck guitar (aka "those guitars, that are like, double guitars, you know?") to a completely disinterested, half-filled audience at daughters of the american revolution hall.
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Shins Setlist (may be slightly off, please add amendments if it is):
Sleeping Lessons
Australia (not 100% on this)
Pam Berry into --->
Phantom Limb
Kissing the Lipless
Mine's Not a High Horse
Girl Inform Me
Girl on the Wing (slowed down)
New Slang
Saint Simon
Girl Sailor (not 100% on this)
Turn a Square
Gone for Good
A Comet Appears
Know Your Onion
Caring Is Creepy
Encore:
Someone I Care About (Modern Lovers cover)
So Says I
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I tend to agree that the Shins were okay but far from terrific. I agree with the comment that they made their opening slot at Meriwether count for more than last nights performance, but I liked the band's overall enthusiasm.
I thought the setlist was pretty good too.
Could've done without the kid in front of me who was trying to record about half of every song on his camera.
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Worst version of "Girl On A Wing" ever? I think so.
I tend to agree with most everyone here. I definitely think they're coming into their own a bit as a live band; like someone said, Mercer was fairly confident front & center, and Hernandez showed he had some (slight awkward) rock star chops in a live setting.
Still, I feel like they just don't know what to do with some of their songs. No one will deny that "New Slang" is one of the best indie songs to come out this decade, but the live version is boring to tears.
Overall though, it was a fun night. When they were on, they were ON. Most of the songs from the first disc were terrific, and it was nice to hear the newer songs side by side. Still, I think this is probably the last time I'd see the Shins live.
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Wow, did I go to the same show you guys did? I really liked the opener, although some jams lasted a bit too long. I thought The Shins were great. Probably the best show I've been to this year.
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I didn't go, but is this Band-Aid from Viva Voce who sang backup for the Shins the same who was on SNL?
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I thought last night's show was great.
I heard two songs from the opener and then left to go get another $6 can of beer. Who would have thought to bring earplugs to a Shins show?
I really enjoyed the Shins. I thought the arrangements and the setlist were very strong (I would have liked to hear Pink Bullets, though). I left with the feeling that if the show had been at the 9:30 Club I would have been blown away. I think the venue strips some of the life out of the music. My section of the crowd (Sec R) was pretty quiet. I have pretty low expectations when I go to DAR and that might have skewed my impression of the show. Low expectations are the key to happiness in life.
Overall: A-
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Jeez if that's your definition of poor sound in a venue, then I'm dying to experience what you people thing is GOOD sound. I was up on the upper left side in the seats and it sounded awesome, for both bands.
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Originally posted by BookerT:
for what it's worth, i got a kick out of viva voce, but i really like their last album. it was pretty funny to see some sorta-hippieish husband/wife duo from portland playing a song called "we do not fuck around" complete with double neck guitar (aka "those guitars, that are like, double guitars, you know?") to a completely disinterested, half-filled audience at daughters of the american revolution hall.
that last song was absolutely hilarious ... i could see will ferrell playing their drummer in their eventual biopic
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All I really remember about the Viva Voce is that they don't like to fuck around.
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has anyone here been to the theater @ MSG? was just curious if its comparable to DAR, not that I've been there either. I'll be seeing them tomorrow night.