Shin-anigans

Last night brought with it the highlight of the youthful indie rock scene, as The Shins, made most famous from their inclusion in the acclaimed Zach Braff soundtrack for Garden State, graced the punk rock haven SOMA with their entrancing sound. Getting from one side of the venue to the other required a parting of the sea of today's edgy teeny boppers. Here I am at an all ages show with the only preconceived notion of enjoying the music, and on my mind the entire night was how fucking weird it was that the bar sold water bottles and diet cokes, no booze. It was sobering, literally, to realize that a good show doesn't require a Jack Daniel's buzz.
The festivities began with the openers for the night, Viva Voce. This Portland-based duo pleased the crowd with its interesting mix of indie sounds and a female bassist reminescent of the grunge rock era, rather than the current artisically mellow shit most females bring to their music (which I love by the way). The obvious comparison for the married couple and bandmates will no doubt be to that other famous pair the Detroit-bred White Stripes (who incidentally were married). A lot less Jack and Meg, Viva Voce consisted of a jam-band quality with a modern experimental twist. I wouldn't be surprised if much of their initial success will come from the unique combination of the hard bass sound and delicate voice that Anita Robinson emits.
What came next was almost a blur for me. The Shins played a start-to-finish show of utter greatness that had me in an almost hypnotic state (one that was constantly interrupted by those concert-goers that lack proper concert etiquette: never shove people at an indie show, this isn't Korn, kids...show some manners). The set list was a carefully crafted one that I would love to share, however lack of writing utensils prevents me from doing so (and sadly my memory isn't what it used to be). I will say that the boys began the show with the latest "Sleeping Lessons" off of this year's Wincing the Night Away, which nearly blew me away; That song must have been created for that effect because it was the perfect way to start. The Shins have an almost mesmerizing quality both melodically and visually that made this one hell of a show. The guys from the Mexico of the New (New Mexico) left their unique taste in everyone's mouth as they ended our Thursday night with the ever popular, "Caring is Creepy." The additional harmonica intro and bridge by James Mercer was genious. Needless to say, I enjoyed a lot more than my Sprite last night.