The Shins at the Joint

I admit I get a little overzealous when I line up my concert schedule. The Shins played the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel to close out all those festivities related to the Vegoose Festival. As tired as I was from attending both days of Vegoose, I could not pass up this opportunity.

Since it was a Vegoose at Night concert, there was no opening band as the Shins took the stage a few minutes past 12:30. The dreamy keyboards of "Sleeping Lessons" filled the Joint as James Mercer (Guitars/Vocals) started to sing the opening lyrics. The Shins were free of their Halloween costumes and seemed to be in a jovial mood. I suddenly found myself rejuvenated after hearing the first couple of songs.

I remember almost losing my hearing when I made the mistake of forgetting my earplugs for Interpol at the Joint back in April. I was thinking I wouldn't need my earplugs for the Shins but I am glad I brought them because it was the loudest Shins show ever. The Joint does go up to 11 every night regardless of who is playing.

"When I Goose Step" is one of my favorite Shins song and comes from the"Wicker Park" soundtrack. The song sounds even better live as it is more polished and has more keyboards in the mix. "Caring Is Creepy" had Marty Crandall(Bass/Keyboards/Comedy) sweeping his hand over his keyboard for some swirling synth effects.

Marty provided the comedy during the show explaining how he won one hundred and twenty dollars on roulette and mimicking Wesley Snipes by saying that you should always "Bet on Black". Marty also had Jesse Sandoval(Drums) cracking up behind the drum set as Marty was licking the neck of his bass and showboating with some rock poses. Marty didn't let up as he would later do an impromptu acapella version of "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" in response to some audience members throwing roses at James throughout the set.

"New Slang" was another high point in the evening as Eric Johnson(Guitars) had a capo on the fifth fret of his guitar. "Sea Legs" had James use a looping/sampling pedal for the intro as the song broke out into its disjointed bass line. Their cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" was stunning as usual and you could hear the chatter in the crowd after the song ended about how amazing it was. The Shins played flawlessly throughout the night and personally thanked all of their crew as they wrapped up their U.S tour.

The Shins setlist at the Joint (10/29/07)
"Sleeping Lessons"
"Australia"
"When I Goose Step"
"Caring Is Creepy"
"Turn A Square"
"Girl Sailor"
"New Slang"
"Sea Legs"
"Mine's Not A High Horse"
"Girl Inform Me"
"Gone For Good"
"A Comet Appears"
"Phantom Limb"
"Saint Simon"
"So Says I"
"Breathe"
"Turn On Me"
"Know Your Onion"