The Shins are one of my favorite bands, especially one that isn't from the jam band world. This was my second time seeing them, also at the Ryman, a must-go-to venue if you're ever in Nashville. James Mercer is a genius. And whoever he has playing with him as The Shins you can bet they'll put on a fantastic show. The lights were an added flashy touch to their psychedelic pop sounds. I cannot wait to see them again. I'm very sorry to take off half a star because the opening band was one of the worst bands I can remember seeing in a while. I don't remember their name. However, this was quickly forgotten when The Shins took the stage and made our night. Thank you.

Nashville, TN@

Ryman Auditorium

Matty

November 9th 2022

Awesome band. The PA went out & all we could hear was the amps with the drums—like a raw practice—& it was glorious. Really showed the chops & the fact that we were watching a real band play real instruments

Minneapolis, MN@

Orpheum Theatre

Ralph

September 17th 2022

I have been a fan of The Shins for a long time and I always wanted to see them play live but never have until this week. We saw them at the Paramount Theater in Seattle on Tuesday night (the 13th) and then again on the last night of the tour at the Pioneer Courthouse Square on Friday night (the 16th). The set list was almost exactly the same with the full, album-ordered song list from Oh, Inverted World followed by a short list of other great songs. Mercer definitely seemed to be having more fun at the Portland show (probably because it was the last night of a two month tour and he slept in his own bed for the first time in a while the night before!) but both shows were absolutely fantastic. I am so glad that we were able to see this band play and I can only hope that they have new music and future tours in the works. I would see them every time that I could anytime they are in the Pacific Northwest. BTW, a shout-out also to the opening band, Joseph. We saw Natalie Schepman open for Deep Sea Diver earlier this year and were excited to see her with her sisters in Joseph open for The Shins. They also came back out as sang back-up on the Oh, Inverted World songs.

Portland, OR@

Pioneer Courthouse Square

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About The Shins

The Shins is an American indie band consisting of singer and guitarist James Mercer, keyboardist/guitarist/bassist Martin Crandall, bassist/guitarist Dave Hernandez, drummer Jesse Sandoval, and, as of 2007, keyboardist/singer Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats. They formed in 1997, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as a side project of Mercer (previously of Blue Roof Dinner) and Sandoval, who were both members of the lo-fi musical group Flake Music (formed as Flake 1992). The band was signed to Sub Pop following a successful tour in 2000 with fellow college-rockers Modest Mouse.

Their 2001 debut album, Oh, Inverted World received near-universal critical acclaim, causing many critics to predict a mass wave of The Beach Boys-inspired bands. That wave never truly came, but the Shins enjoyed a rapidly expanding fanbase, and even saw their music featured on a McDonalds advertisement. That may have been artistic suicide for them, had it not been that the song featured ("New Slang"), included the lines "New slang/when you notice the stripes/the dirt in your fries," as well as "God speed all the bakers at dawn/may they all cut their thumbs/And bleed into their buns/'till they melt away."

The band moved from New Mexico to the "indie rock capitol" of portland in 2002. Their much-anticipated followup, Chutes Too Narrow, was released in October of ‘03 in the U.S. and a half-year later across the pond to gushing reviews that matched if not exceeded their debut effort.

Ironically enough, their poppier more-accesible sophomore release would be overshadowed by the prominent appearance of two Inverted tracks, "Caring Is Creepy,” and "New Slang" in the Zach Braff’s dramedy Garden State. Particularly, "New Slang" received a significant callout as the movie's heroine, Natalie Portman, slips a pair of headphones on Zach Braff and proclaims "...this song will change your life".

The film and soundtrack brought “indie” to the wider twenty-something audience and created a comparably massive fan-base for The Shins as well as a number of other artists featured on the album. Namely labelmates Iron & Wine, who cover Sub Pop's The Postal Service. (Such Great Heights)

More recently, The Shins roster has expanded to include Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats (Sub Pop). In addition, Anita Robinson of Viva Voce has appeared on stage and on-record lending female harmonies to the new single "Phantom Limb."

Their newest endeavor, entitled Wincing the Night Away, was released on January 23, 2007. The album leaked on October 20, 2006, and was also put up for purchase on iTunes two weeks prior to its release on January 9, 2007. The album was taken down a day later. Produced by Phil Ek in Seattle, Wincing is a return to the more dreamy, psychedelic, layered sound of Inverted but retains Mercer's penchant for romantic, allusionary lyricism and inventive pop progressions.

Wincing debuted spectacularly on the Billboard charts at #2, selling 118,000 copies, leading to both the highest debut in the band and their label Sub Pop's history.

More information:
*http://www.theshins.co.uk
*http://http:en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Shins

Genres:

Indie, Alternative

Hometown:

Portland, Oregon