So, Last night we went to the Shins' concert here in Seattle. Held in the beautiful Paramount Theater, we had excellent mezzanine seats. They played a lot of their old hits, and most of their new album. About the only complaint I have is that they're BORING on stage. The singer barely moves, the steel guitar player looks like Napoleon Dynamite and also barely moves, the bassist and guitarist have some energy, but they don't do anything other than hop up and down occasionally and move back and forth in a space about ten feet deep. The pauses between numbers are awkwardly silent and chaotic. They need a stage production manager and some visual performance lessons. On the other hand they're great at their music, it's uniquely, dischordantly, almost simultaneously happy and sad. The melodies and harmonies are spot-on. Should that be enough? Then why go to a concert at all? Ultimately, it was a mellow way to spend the evening.

From the new album, "Phantom Limb"



A classic, "New Slang"