The Shins @ Terminal 5, NYC

Live Reviews | Oct 24th, 2007

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Date: Oct 23, 2007
Opening Bands: Vetiver

I never had the chance to see the Shins play live until now. Last time the band came to NY, they played the theater at Madison Square Garden but I simply hate seated venues. This time, The Shins played the brand new music venue, Terminal 5. I originally thought it was some old JFK terminal when I went to look up the venue. Of course, I was wrong. It’s the new “Bowery Presents” 3,000 person venue right off the West Side Highway. The club is three floors and unless you’re not standing in the packed floor downstairs or sitting near the railings, you’re not gonna see the band.

I did a walk through to check out the new venue and most of the right hand side of the club was marked off for VIP. Seemed like a waste to me. It was hard to see the stage if you stood behind someone on the balconies. So I went downstairs and got pretty close to the stage and watched the opening act. The band was Vetiver and I didn’t know who they were. The band looked like they didn’t shower for a month. Joining them on stage was one of the members of the Shins, playing the slide guitar thingie. The band was really mellow, and to be honest; they were putting me to sleep. Every song seemed like 7 minutes long, and the band barely moved around on stage. They just did their music and played it so soft and quiet. Towards the end of their set they had one or two upbeat songs which I thought were okay. I think the band would sound fine if I was listening to one of their albums but hearing them live was boring.

As I was waiting for the Shins to hit the stage, I was witnessing the hipster-hippie-blazer jacket crowd. The crowd was very similar to the Decemberists’ crowd, people that get so upset if you’re standing 2 inches next to them. Everyone would groan if people were walking to the front, even if they were saying excuse me or looking for someone. I had to hear a bunch of women bicker back and forth because one girl was looking for her boyfriend. The girl was apparently touching one of the ladies, plus she had giant hair. I shouted out, “it’s a concert; of course you’re going to get touched in the crowd!” I told the girl getting yelled at, that the crowd were stiffs and not to pay attention to it. There’s always drama in the crowd.

Blue lights were flickering throughout the stage and the Shins came on. They opened up with “Sleeping Lessons” and everyone in the band seemed on their game. Singer James Mercer’s voice sounded great last night. I haven’t seen the Shins before but I’ve seen concert footage of them and sometimes he doesn’t sound the best. I thought the band was more energetic than I thought they were going to be. I thought they would be standing still, looking straight forward and just singing their songs. They would occasionally do that, but they moved around a bit more. I’m not sure the exact order the songs that were played in, but the more notable songs they performed that evening were: “Caring Is Creepy,” “Sea Legs,” “Know Your Onion (I think?),” “New Slang,” “A Comet Appears,” “Turn On Me,” “Australia,” “A Call To Apathy” and of course “Phantom Limb.”

I thought the most interesting song they played that night was “Sea Legs.” The band just looked like they were really enjoying themselves with that song. The drummer played the maracas, along with the bassist/keyboardists. Mercer was getting into the song and almost screaming into the microphone. The song just sounded the best that night. Two of my favorites, “Australia” and “Phantom Limb” sounded excellent as well. I wish James played the banjo during “Australia,” like he does on the album. After “Phantom Limb,” the band went off stage and took 5 minutes to come back with their cover of Pink Floyd’s “Breathe.” I’m not a Pink Floyd fan so I didn’t really care for the song. I took off after that so I didn’t know what else the band played.

Overall, The Shins are a great band but I’m not so sure they worth 40 bucks to see in concert. Either way, they still had a great set at Terminal 5 and I heard a lot of songs I wanted to hear. If you are planning on going to Terminal Five, make sure you get there early enough to get a good spot. If not, you’re screwed.

Bottom Line: Great set, great band! But not sure the concert is worth 40 bucks
Favorite Songs: Caring Is Creepy, Australia, Phantom Limb, New Slang, Sea Legs, Turn On Me, A Call To Apathy, Know Your Onion
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