The Shins played at The Greek Theatre on Sunday, October 7 in support of their latest release: "Wincing The Night Away" with singer/guitarist James Mercer (pictured) leading the beat.
Entering the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, fans both young and not so young (like me), delved into the rambling and sometimes melancholic great pop music of a band grown-up and confident, they can hold their own in their repertoire, and playful on stage even in between songs. A blonde fan tossed Mercer a single stem red rose which Mercer playfully gave to fun-guy Eric Johnson who meticulously attached the stem rose to his classic white bass guitar. The band started with the huge mixed Los Angeles crowd up on their feet dancing to their their rhythmic jog of pop music.
(The Shins "Turn On Me" Video on the Conan O'Brien Show)
Brought together by a genuine love of pop music – and subsequent eschewal of college aspirations – singer/guitarist James Mercer, drummer Jesse Sandoval, keyboardist Marty Crandall, synthesizer & bassist Eric Johnson who was alternating with bassist and rhythm guitarist Dave Hernandez are The Shins. Mercer had taught himself to play the guitar as a teenager, while listening to bands like My Bloody Valentine and Echo & The Bunnymen. With time, he developed a more pronounced interest in ‘60s pop and the art of well-crafted songwriting. Mercer’s aesthetic, paired with the like-minded sensibilities of his bandmates, gave rise to this most friendly troupe of disbelieving pop heroes.
Recorded over time in Mercer’s basement studio, Phil Ek’s Seattle digs, and in Oregon City with veteran engineer Joe Chiccarelli (Beck, U2) – Wincing the Night Away is a whole new animal. It is the sound of a band growing up and out. Mercer’s infectious, indelible melodic style is still at the core, and unfaltering. But anything can happen around it – and in this case, it does. Channeling a Morrissey vibe, “Sea Legs” pairs a hip-hop (yes, hip-hop) beat with lush melodic lines and searing guitars. Elsewhere the band toys with tweaked-out piano steeped in psychedelic strings (“Red Rabbit”); fractured synth samples (“Spilt Needles”); gauzy, arpeggiated keyboards cloaking thunderous anthems (“Sleeping Lessons”); and, taking cues from early Jesus and Mary Chain albums – sweeping, fuzztoned epics (“Phantom Limb”). Finally, “Turn on Me,” “Girl Sailor” and “Australia” are the lilting, exhilarating, rollicking, rock-solid pop songs we’ve all come to covet from The Shins.
To date, "Oh! Inverted World" and "Chutes Too Narrow" have sold more than a million copies worldwide. No one expected it to debut at number 2 on the Billboard charts after selling 118,000 copies in its first week. Sub Pop had never had a top ten record, much less a hit of this magnitude. Playing at the Greek Theatre here in Los Angeles, Eric Johnson exclaimed in his rendition of a famous Greek quote to Sunday's mixed crowd, stating "We are honored."
Mercer admits that he was baffled but also heartened by the response. Now that he’s been able to keep himself challenged creatively, he’s beginning to accept the possibility that he and his band have the ability to maintain a long career. But, if you ask Portman, Braff and the thousands of die-hard fans, that’s something they could have told you about The Shins a long time ago. I wish they told me early on.The band was something new to me but I really enjoyed my Sunday evening at the Greek and will be starting my week tomorrow smiling...
(Jay Fermin ppp-usa))