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The Shins + Even, Pharoahs Fowlers Live, Fri 11 Feb  A
year ago The Shins played a blinder of a show to 200-odd punters and
I subsequently wrote a review telling you exactly what you missed.
Clearly you have excellent memories because this show was a complete
sell-out over a week beforehand. Good for you, Adelaide.OK, maybe all the radio airplay and 'OC' soundtrack work also had something to do with it, but The Shins pulled a full house that had comfortably filled the room by the time Pharoahs played their fifth ever show. Let me go on record as saying these guys are headed for great things: their sound is an oh-so-contemporary mix of UK new wave influences (early Cure, Joy Division, XTC, Gang Of Four etc) mixed with catchy chorus' and tunes I defy you not to dance to. Assuming they can keep it together and avoid that big-fish-small-pond arrogance that seems to appear in every band that's ever filled the Jade Monkey, I'd put money on Pharoahs being the SA band of 2005. Remember: you read it here first, kids. The room was still buzzing after Pharoahs, but Even did their best to dispel it with a disappointingly mid-paced set. They acquitted themselves well - after all, Even never do bad shows - but it seemed a little like the band were going through the motions, especially after Pharoahs' wired energy. Still, many enjoyed themselves and the rest of the crowd grabbed a couple of fortifying drinks before the main attraction. The Shins took the stage like conquering heroes, launching into Caring Is Creepy and Turn A Square with little preamble before proceeding through most of 'Oh, Inverted World' and 'Chutes Too Narrow' in 90-odd minutes. In some ways it was similar to the last gig - keyboardist/bassist Marty Crandall is still the clown prince of indie-rock, guitarist/bassist Dave Hernandez is still one of the best looking men on the planet and singer/guitarist James Mercer still barely says a word but possesses one of the purest singest voices imaginable - but in other ways it was even more impressive. Several new songs were tested out, whetting the appetite for album number three (plus a joyous cover of The Magnetic Fields' Strange Powers), but I hadn't realised quite how fervently loved these songs were: whether it was the squealed 'OOoooo-ooo-HOO!" in So Says I, the chorus singalong on Pink Bullets or the reverent silence that met New Slang. For my part, I was delighted that the year I'd spent wanting to hear Mine's Not A High Horse live wasn't spent in vain, although the energetic encore of Girl On The Wing was also superb. Allegedly some punters paid over $100 for tickets on eBay. They still got their money's worth.  |
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