The legendary Barrowland ballroom welcomed The Shins for the second time this year last Friday. The melodic beats of the 4 piece pop-rock group filled this classic ballroom and managed to grab hold of the audiences' souls. Openers, Vampire Weekend were challenged to set the tone for the evening.
"I bought your t-shirt, so you better be f*cking good!" a girl shouts from the audience as the American four piece took to the stage - you always get a warm welcome in Glasgow!. Playing their first show in Scotland, Vampire Weekend started their set by camouflaging their nerves with a rather exaggerated performance. But it wasn't long before the New Yorkers settled into their groove and they soon gained the respect, and support, of the crowd. Certainly a more pop than punk band, Vampire Weekend were able to melt many differing genres together; easy rock, narrative, and some ska inspired guitar riffs all came together well. Younger audience members were particularly keen on their performance and were eating up songs like "M79", "Campus", "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" and "Apunk". And the predictable "it's-almost-the- end-of-our-set-so-we're-gonna-do-our-audience participation-call-and-response-song" which was titled "One (Blake's Got a New Face)", also got a positive reaction. A nice start to the night and the band was able to create a stirring atmosphere amongst concert goers anticipating the next act, The Shins.
When The Shins hit the stage they rolled right into "Sleeping Lessons", the song that kicks off their third and latest album Wincing the Night. Fans of the previous two albums were equally pleased as "Kissing the Lipless" and "Mine's Not a High Horse" rounded out the first three songs. Lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist James Mercer maintained a low key approach to his performance, but all the while singing his lyrics with the same desire, emotion and devotion that they were written with. The musicians showed their versatility as Martin Crandell and Dave Hernandez switched between keyboard, guitar, and bass respectively; whilst Eric Johnson moved his fingers smoothly along the frets of the electric, acoustic and lap steel guitars. Dave Hernandez strutted to the pulse of his bass on stage throughout the show, but the musical energy of the band as a whole climaxed during their encore performance. When they returned to the stage after their set, they brought company. An assortment of shakers, maracas and bells were distributed to the members of Vampire Weekend who were obviously ecstatic to join The Shins for their final songs of the night. The crowd welcomed this impromptu event, and cheered for The Shins until the screams faded to mere scratches on the back of the throat in an empty ballroom.