May 22, 2009

The Shins @ Terminal 5 - NYC

Don't get excited, guys. This was the most boring live experience I've attended in some time, especially for a final tour stop? Yikes. There's been a shift in lineup, ushering in not just a new keyboardist but a drummer who took the place of Jesse Sandoval who seems to have now found his calling serving up indie tacos in Portland. After last night's unmoving set, I'm quick to say Upgrade.

Whatever is left of The Shins played to a packed house and there were some genuine cheers from a crowd that demonstrated the confusingly wide range of their fan base. There were the older-looking hip VH1 kind of people, the very young and barely legal, and then these two inebriated Lady Gaga look-alike chicks next to us who insisted on posing in pictures with each other, complete with tousled hair and exaggerated pouts perhaps intended for potential future Facebook profile photos. Much of my malaise may have been due to my looming bad mood but also the fact that I hate Terminal 5, a venue that a Brooklyn Vegan reader recently opined "needs to accidentally burn down." It's too big for any kind of intimacy, the sound quality isn't that great, and it's not designed for shorter indie rock fans. I can never see anything so I end up watching the show from the monitors while trying hard to avoid the inevitable elbowing to the boob, or boobs if the show gods are really hating me that evening.

There was no on-stage banter, no tomfoolery, vulgarity, anecdotes, nothing. They did share a "new song" that was upbeat and promising, but they didn't even play any of my favorite songs off Chutes Too Narrow ("Kissing The Lipless" or "Pink Bullets"). Perhaps one point of interest was when they played "Saint Simon" and I recognized the violinist who appeared as being Rebecca Zeller from Ra Ra Riot, only to think "That's cool, whatever." They're a solid band and their music sounds great live, it was just... boring. All of this mystifies me considering I saw them my one and only other time in 2004 at Webster Hall and left feeling invigorated and excited as well as satisfied and relaxed. Que paso? They closed their two-song encore with "New Slang" and instead of getting excited, we left mid-song to avoid the rush. This humors me considering I saw Wolf Parade here last summer and refused to move several minutes after their last song because I was still reeling. At one point I actually whispered into my friend's ear, "I think I could have stayed home lounging on my bed blasting their records and had a better time." The feeling was mutual.

13 Comments:

Mona said...

Oh, if this counts for "excitement"... upon entering the venue, I saw some bloodied up chick being rushed to an ambulance because her flip flop wearin' super-drunk ass fell down the flight of stairs, all before the Shins even went on.

I spoke to a T5 security guard after the show inquiring about what happened and whether or not there was a potential lawsuit on their hands (hoping not), to which he asked "You a lawyer?" I smiled and said, "No sir. Just a concerned citizen."

Brasilliant said...

I saw them a few years ago in D.C., but Martin Crandall (keyboardist) seemed to be the lively one of the bunch. The music sounded great, but now that I think about it, their stage presence was pretty stiff.

Anonymous said...

hey! that chick was me!

Anonymous said...

actually. it would be nice if somebody could tell me what happened? did anyone see?

awmercy said...

Are you okay?

Anonymous said...

am i okay? yeah i got stitches but i'm fine

thank you for asking. but seriously, does anyone know how far we fell? what were the stairs made of? who called 911? anything else interesting?

and most importantly, what happened to my flip flops? i liked those

Mona said...

I am so confused.

Brasilliant, yeah I dunno, it was a really boring show. I was in a funk too so I'm sure that was part of it, but the impersonality of the venue tends to detract from performances (in my opinion)...

Anonymous, you sound like you're kidding. If this were the drunk girl, I don't think you'd be asking "how far we fell" b/c you would know it was only one girl. Forget flip flops, checking into rehab is probably your bigger priority!

Anonymous said...

excuse me?

first of all, two of us did fall. i know that much.

also, that rehab comment was completely inappropriate.

so, anyways. no information?

Mona said...

Hey, if this is you, I hope you're alright. If this isn't you and this is a "joke", then...

Why do you need "information" regarding how far you fell, who called 911, if anyone saw, what the stairs are made of.... are you like planning on suing T5 or something? Why not focus on the fact that you're lucky to be ok. Those are some steepass stairs.

Mona said...

As far as the appropriation of my comments, you're free to your opinion. Let's just say most people would agree that T5 is not the safest venue to get drunk at...

Anonymous said...

It is me, and of course I'm not planning on suing them. It would just be nice to know what happened.

Mona said...

Honestly, I have no idea. You were being carried out on a gurney as I walked up to will-call. Found out post-show you fell, but the guard wouldn't reveal much else.

As for the Shins, don't worry since you missed very little. I bet the hospital was much more action-packed than the show. Cute doctors, less frat boys.

How much did you drink anyway? I mean, the show had barely started at that point...

Anonymous said...

Did I look really bad? Yeah, I was so sad to miss the show. Hospital was great, though - doctor was so cute. And yeah, I drank way too much.