the shins with vetiver @ the plex - 10/18/07

i attended a show at the plex in north charleston the other night that was quite excellent. vetiver was the name of the opening band. the shins were the headlining band. vetiver were a surprise opener to me, because the very day before the show, i found out that the lead singer of the band has worked and toured with a current favorite of mine, devendra banhart, in the past. so, i was very much looking forward to seeing him perform with his band. they did not disappoint. their set was comprised mostly of beautiful, slow-tempo songs. his voice is quite good, and the band are talented musicians. they are touring to support their second album, to find me gone. also, one member of the shins (the keyboard/guitar player, the blonde dude in the second picture below) joined them for a few tunes.


photo courtesy of james petit

the shins put on an excellent performance as well. i admit, i am not the biggest fan of the shins (my wife simply adores them, though), but i did thoroughly enjoy their show. it could have something to do with the fact that my wife and her best friend/cousin, mei-lan, were dancing excitedly the whole show, or maybe because the band just put on a really good show. the first 10 songs or so, i did not recognize, but i aimlessly grooved along to them. then they played new slang, which i first heard while watching the excellent movie garden state, and phantom limb, the first single from their latest album wincing the night away. great songs, even better live.


photo courtesy of james petit

they continued on, playing a few more that i sorta recognized. when they came out for the encore, they played a cover of pink floyd's breathe from dark side of the moon, complete with mini-laser light show, which blew the doors down. the place was packed, the crowd had a great time, i had a great time, and it seems that the bands also had a great time.

i could have done without the smoky atmosphere - i think i am getting too old for all of that second-hand smoke. now, if they can just pass the smoking ban in north charleston, as well, shows at the plex would be so much more enjoyable. anywho, if you get a chance to see either one of these bands, please do so. and listen to their music. as always, if you like it, support the artists and buy it legally. thanks for reading!