The Shins, Spoon Rock Out at Merriweather

Merriweather Post Pavilion / Columbia, Maryland
October 22

Recommended beverage to go with this show:
Gotta love the slightly fruity 20-ounce white sangria

On an unseasonably warm evening, two stellar bands played Merriweather. The Shins and Spoon each played long, satisfying sets to a sparse but dedicated crowd.

One thing these two talented American bands have in common is the added exposure each got after their music was featured in a major movie. Three Spoon songs were featured in the recent movie Stranger than Fiction. And, for the Shins, their two songs in the movie Garden State—in which Natalie Portman’s character telling her new friend about the Shins, saying “Listen to this; it will change your life” propelled their success and gained them an immediate and large cult following.

Headliners the Shins just exploded with raucous energy from the moment they took the stage, quite unexpectedly if you’ve only heard the mellow, sedate sounds of their recordings. Live, this Albuquerque-born and now Portland, Oregon-based band was on fire. Lead singer James Mercer’s vocals were sweet and flawless, and (excuse the sappy but) his voice just touched some deep, unexplored part of my soul. I was transfixed. The newest member of the band, Eric Johnson, added rich vocal harmonies on backing vocals and some folk elements on the few songs on which he played slide guitar.

Other than one ballad, which was beautiful, the Shins played with relentless intensity. They featured a good many songs from their successful 2007 album, Wincing the Night Away and a good sampling off their 2003 Chutes Too Narrow. A wonderful surprise was their one cover of the night. The Shins opened the encore with a bold choice and they nailed it, covering Pink Floyd’s “Breathe in the Air.” If you get the chance to check out these boys live, don’t miss 'em.

On the co-bill delivering a full set was the Austin-based band Spoon. These guys generally sell out the 9:30 Club and Baltimore’s Sonar when in town but, unfortunately, at this show the large arena swallowed them up during their first few songs due to mixing and feedback problems. Once corrected, the band simply rocked out with material from a decade + of music. Their long set focused heavily on their latest album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, which is as strong rhythmically and lyrically as their older material and they threw in a few standard favorites too. Rounding out their sound, they brought out a couple of horn players on for several songs.

The next night, Spoon played a free show at the 9:30 Club, requiring just the ticket stub from the Shins show for admission. I wasn’t there but am happy to report that the 25-song show was webcast live and archived on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” which you can check out here: Spoon on NPR.