Concert Review - The Shins, Auckland New Zealand, 2017

The Shins

30th November 2017
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review and Photography by Sarah Kidd.

A balmy night in Auckland is what welcomes punters who have already begun to line-up early outside The Powerstation for the chance of getting a front row position at the highly anticipated and very much sold out show for American indie band The Shins. Once inside what greets them is a rather fanciful stage with instruments decked out in garlands of flowers and soft rays of reds and blues.

To truly begin the night in style local band Ha the Unclear are here to regale the crowd with their unique brand of alt-pop, indie style tones. Originally hailing from South Dunedin Ha the Unclear last appeared at this very same venue when in support of the mighty The Dandy Warhols. Tonight they took it to another level. “Hello” lead guitarist and vocalist Michael Cathro greets the audience; “it’s nice to be here, this is called ‘It Follows’”. And with that a wonderful wave of classical kiwi sound sprang from the stage. Appearing as a five piece tonight Ha the Unclear soon had the crowd – many of whom were obvious fans of this fantastic little band – dancing to their idiosyncratic tales; such as the wonderfully written and disturbingly insightful commentary on today’s society ‘Big City’ one of their latest tracks released in April this year.

Lined up across the stage each band member worked in unison with the next, sharing smiles and nods. Paul Cathro on bass is an animated musician whose physical body seems to be an extension of his instrument; both Paul and guitarist Theo Francis are well adept at their craft and coupled with their harmonizing they round out the overall sound with brilliance. Dipping into their debut album released in 2014 Bacterium, Look At Your Motor Go; fans are treated to ‘Kosmonavt’ a sweet tune which shows off Cathros vocal talents, inflections perfectly placed. Don’t be fooled though, these boys can also rock out with the best of them! Finishing on the upbeat ‘Mannequins’ the room was filled with nothing but smiles and applause; while Ha The Unclear maybe “finding humour in the unflinching ambiguity of existing and embracing insignificance” you should be ‘finding and embracing’ this exceptional example of home grown talent!

Touted as “one of the most significant indie bands of the 21st century” The Shins are back in New Zealand after ten years of absence. Formed in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1996, The Shins quickly became the go to band with the release of their albums Oh, Inverted World and sophomore album Chutes Too Narrow. Following his split with the original line-up in 2012, lead vocalist and founding member James Mercer is back with what has been noted as a particularly strong line-up of outstandingly talented multi-instrumentalists. As the band arrive on stage it is arguably Mercer who receives the loudest cheers as he takes up position front and centre; kicking it off with ‘Caring is Creepy’ from their first album the crowd are beside themselves with joy, the collective memories of where they were when they first heard the song almost becoming a visible entity as they play out across people’s faces and secret smiles. Within the first three songs the band has already moved across their musical history with the track ‘Australia’ from their 2007 album Wincing The Night Away giving way to ‘Name For You’ from their latest offering Heartworms released in March this year.

One thing that is glaringly obvious from the outset is that Mercer has become a far more self-assured singer in a live capacity. Whether from behind his guitar or gripping the microphone stand, his vocals are awash with flavour; falsettos achieved with the greatest of ease. Off to the left of the stage are Yuuki Matthews (formally of Crystal Skulls) and Casey Foubert on bass and guitar. Tonight however they will be forever known as the dynamic duo as they effortlessly move between instruments working together in symbiotic harmony. Mark Watrous of Loudermilk and Gosling fame is tucked off to the side of drummer Jon Sortland, however he makes his presence felt at all the right times; while off to the right wearing a blouse that matches her charmingly decorated keyboard stand, Patti King faces into the band. You could almost see the stage bow with the weight of such musical greatness contained in one place.

‘Cherry Hearts’ one of their latest tracks is upbeat and melodic, the front rows dancing on the spot as all eyes are on the animated Mercer, watching as the words tumble from his lips. Dipping straight down into the more subdued ‘Gone For Good’ with its very country sounding guitar tones, the band is bathed in soft red lighting, matching the mood of the song. Keeping with the country tones, ‘Mildenhall’ again off The Shins latest album sees Foubert take to the violin, its rich notes lifting the song up, and the crowd swaying to its loveliness. But its ‘Saint Simon’ that brings home that communal spirit that you get at shows such as these, everyone joining in with Mercer to sing “la, la, la, lah” and enjoying every second of it. The excitement of it all getting to Foubert as he leaps over to the drum kit and rounds out the song with a bit of his own symbol work. The upbeat ‘Painting A Hole’ with its hypnotic riff and strut brings the energy levels back up to ten as the entire band completely loses themselves to the music, Mercer producing some of his best falsetto yelps of the evening. Then from out of nowhere, Sortland begins a familiar drumbeat that quickly morphs into a few moments of the Aerosmith classic “Walk This Way’ the crowd whooping with delight. Their delight giving way to complete ecstasy as the opening notes to ‘Highway to Hell’ fill the room, Sortland completely taking everyone – including Mercer – by surprise with his down and dirty vocals. “I don’t know the words … is anyone here from Australia?” he laughs. The song halts momentarily before Sortland picks it up again at the chorus. Brilliant. Finishing the set on ‘Phantom Limb’ and ‘Simple Song’ the latter inducing another collective singalong it was inevitable that an encore would be demanded from the fans that weren’t ready to say goodnight to The Shins just yet.

Returning to the stage accompanied only by Sortland with the most delicate of touches on the kit, Mercer delivers an acoustic version of ‘Yong Pilgrims’ before a line of three violins and a guest guitarist usher in ‘The Fear’. Then the song that first brought The Shins to the attention of the mainstream world when it was used on the soundtrack of the 2004 film starring Zach Braff was here – admittedly almost all in attendance tonight had waited many years to hear ‘New Slang’ again live, and judging by the upturned faces and closed eyes it was well and truly worth it. Taking the night out on an exultant high, ‘Sleeping Lessons’ morphed into a nod to the late, great Tom Petty as The Shins flawlessly slid in a snippet of ‘American Girl’. It fitted so well it was as if it had always belonged there. Jubilant and obviously no longer being able to contain himself at all Foubert suddenly jumped down into the audience and disappeared among the masses as Mercer and the rest of the band brought the house down, Mercer himself unbelievably sounding even better than he did at the beginning of the evening. With a heart on their sleeves full jam out, the band were showered with applause and vocal appreciation.

And that is exactly how you end a show.

The Shins:

Ha the Unclear:

Were you there at Powerstation for this classic indie rock gig? Or have you seen The Shins perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!