The White Stripes and the Shins
September 27th was a good day for music. Several of my friends went to see Sufjan Stevens perform at the 9:30 club here in DC. During the course of the evening, I also talked to another friend of mine who attended a Decemberists concert in another state. Meanwhile, I spent the evening in Maryland watching the Shins and the White Stripes put on an incredible show.
The concert opener was not actually the Shins, but a solo artist by the name of M. Ward. He with his guitar, harmonica, and two-piece band and played a solid, enjoyable set. Mr. Ward is more “aspiring” Dylan than “Dylan-esque,” but was, in his own right, one of the most passionate and brilliant guitarists I’ve ever seen in person. We had never heard of him, but he’s released a number of albums in the last few years and is apparently well-known in certain underground circles.
The Shins took the stage after this and managed to squeeze in a lot of crowd favorites into about half an hour. I’m not much of a Shins fan, and only recognized a couple songs, but I will remember them for one thing – they were funny. Honestly, crowd-banter has always seemed a tedious part of a concert to me. Some bands are better than others at communicating sincerity and unpretentiousness, but the Shins won us over immediately by making us laugh. Music and comedy – this is a combination that works! It fit their entire take-us-as-we-are stage persona, poking fun at each other and themselves without the slightest bit of self-deprecation.
You know a so-called Indy band has really hit it big when the opener is another indy group well-known and successful in its own right. Before Jack and Meg even came out it was obvious their show was going to be larger-than-life. The array of instruments on stage included a grand piano, two kettle drums, and a giant red-and-white xylophone. A giant black, white, and red backdrop, Meg’s peppermint-candy drumset, and what looked like a row of bright red flares or torches topped it all off.
They started off with a couple songs from their most recent Get Behind Me Satan then quickly moved to hits from Elephant and White Blood Cells. The first segment, like most of the show, seemed to be more of a medley of songs than a strict succession, so I’m a little fuzzy on exactly which songs were played when, but the first 15 minutes or so contained a new interpretation of “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” some amazing guitar work on “Black Math,” and a remarkable, rocking cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” The last time I heard “Jolene” I think I was 12 and visiting Branson, MO, but I heard it enough times that week to make it stick in my mind as a great song. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear the White Stripes cover it.
There is another style of crowd banter that is often not appreciated by crowds – the minimalist style, where the band seems to ignore the audience and just get through their set. In the case of the White Stripes, however, words were unnecessary. There was no time for filler anyway; the hour and forty-five minute set went often without so much as a break in sound between songs. The amount of their repertoire they didn’t play was probably less than the amount they did. While I appreciated the Shins’ successful attempt to reach the crowd, I also appreciate a band with the drive and focus to just rock out non-stop for almost two hours. Not even halfway into the set, Jack’s black hat had toppled off and sweat was visibly flying off his body and dripping down his long curls. He tortured the last ounce of sound out of two poor guitars. Meg, for all the talk of her “minimalist” drum style, played with a sensual energy and drama I’ve never seen in a drummer before. In an interesting contrast to Jack’s scathing guitar, Meg plays her drums like she loves them. She also sang lovely renditions of several of her cameos, including “In the Cold, Cold Night.”
Other highlights of the evening included the new instruments (tympani and xylophone) on the songs from their latest album, Jack’s piano on “I Want to Be the Boy,” a brief, drum-free rendition of “Now Mary,” fabulous guitar work on the bluesy “Ball & Biscuit” and “The Hardest Button to Button,” a fast-paced “Hotel Yorba” and other hard rockers that really got the crowd going. I personally think the musical performance culminated in “The Hardest Button to Button” or De Stijl’s “Death Letter,” but the high point of the concert was probably, no surprise, the encore performance of “Seven Nation Army” complete with flashing lights and strobing red flares. Even the stoner in front of us on the lawn, who had been dancing and flailing wildly for the entire show, stopped and stood still, completely mesmerized.
In all, it more than made up for the cold autumn night, the seats in the grass, and the long drive to Maryland. Actually, Merriweather is a nice concert venue. Even out on the lawn, I felt like I was part of the show – though in retrospect, that may have owed more to the White Stripes’ captivating performance than anything else.
The concert opener was not actually the Shins, but a solo artist by the name of M. Ward. He with his guitar, harmonica, and two-piece band and played a solid, enjoyable set. Mr. Ward is more “aspiring” Dylan than “Dylan-esque,” but was, in his own right, one of the most passionate and brilliant guitarists I’ve ever seen in person. We had never heard of him, but he’s released a number of albums in the last few years and is apparently well-known in certain underground circles.
The Shins took the stage after this and managed to squeeze in a lot of crowd favorites into about half an hour. I’m not much of a Shins fan, and only recognized a couple songs, but I will remember them for one thing – they were funny. Honestly, crowd-banter has always seemed a tedious part of a concert to me. Some bands are better than others at communicating sincerity and unpretentiousness, but the Shins won us over immediately by making us laugh. Music and comedy – this is a combination that works! It fit their entire take-us-as-we-are stage persona, poking fun at each other and themselves without the slightest bit of self-deprecation.
You know a so-called Indy band has really hit it big when the opener is another indy group well-known and successful in its own right. Before Jack and Meg even came out it was obvious their show was going to be larger-than-life. The array of instruments on stage included a grand piano, two kettle drums, and a giant red-and-white xylophone. A giant black, white, and red backdrop, Meg’s peppermint-candy drumset, and what looked like a row of bright red flares or torches topped it all off.
They started off with a couple songs from their most recent Get Behind Me Satan then quickly moved to hits from Elephant and White Blood Cells. The first segment, like most of the show, seemed to be more of a medley of songs than a strict succession, so I’m a little fuzzy on exactly which songs were played when, but the first 15 minutes or so contained a new interpretation of “Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground,” some amazing guitar work on “Black Math,” and a remarkable, rocking cover of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene.” The last time I heard “Jolene” I think I was 12 and visiting Branson, MO, but I heard it enough times that week to make it stick in my mind as a great song. I was very pleasantly surprised to hear the White Stripes cover it.
There is another style of crowd banter that is often not appreciated by crowds – the minimalist style, where the band seems to ignore the audience and just get through their set. In the case of the White Stripes, however, words were unnecessary. There was no time for filler anyway; the hour and forty-five minute set went often without so much as a break in sound between songs. The amount of their repertoire they didn’t play was probably less than the amount they did. While I appreciated the Shins’ successful attempt to reach the crowd, I also appreciate a band with the drive and focus to just rock out non-stop for almost two hours. Not even halfway into the set, Jack’s black hat had toppled off and sweat was visibly flying off his body and dripping down his long curls. He tortured the last ounce of sound out of two poor guitars. Meg, for all the talk of her “minimalist” drum style, played with a sensual energy and drama I’ve never seen in a drummer before. In an interesting contrast to Jack’s scathing guitar, Meg plays her drums like she loves them. She also sang lovely renditions of several of her cameos, including “In the Cold, Cold Night.”
Other highlights of the evening included the new instruments (tympani and xylophone) on the songs from their latest album, Jack’s piano on “I Want to Be the Boy,” a brief, drum-free rendition of “Now Mary,” fabulous guitar work on the bluesy “Ball & Biscuit” and “The Hardest Button to Button,” a fast-paced “Hotel Yorba” and other hard rockers that really got the crowd going. I personally think the musical performance culminated in “The Hardest Button to Button” or De Stijl’s “Death Letter,” but the high point of the concert was probably, no surprise, the encore performance of “Seven Nation Army” complete with flashing lights and strobing red flares. Even the stoner in front of us on the lawn, who had been dancing and flailing wildly for the entire show, stopped and stood still, completely mesmerized.
In all, it more than made up for the cold autumn night, the seats in the grass, and the long drive to Maryland. Actually, Merriweather is a nice concert venue. Even out on the lawn, I felt like I was part of the show – though in retrospect, that may have owed more to the White Stripes’ captivating performance than anything else.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home