oh, inverted band

Although James Mercer's soaring tenor is typically the focal point of Shins records, keyboardist/occasional bassist/hype man Marty Crandall was hands down the highlight of the night (excepting, of course, the band's intricately constructed melodies). This was clear by his spot, front and center, on the stage. To the left bassist/occasional guitarist Dave Hernandez hammered away during the band's more up-tempo tunes as if he was in a hardcore band.

But Crandall was hilarious, at times seemingly channeling Jack Black. Does the idea of one-half of Tenacious D providing interstitial banter at a Shins concert? Of course, and that's why it works so well. He promised that the concert, chock full of "mind melting" songs, wouldn't be held up by anything, be it rain (the show was being made up; it was originally scheduled for June, and yes, we made it through pouring rain only to be told by Stubb's staff that the show was cancelled. But the bar-b-q was excellent. Less excellent was missing an impromptu in-store at Waterloo by mere minutes) or terrorists.

After about 80 minutes of expertly crafted power-pop, the band left but was soon back for an encore of "Kissing the Lipless," a bizarre heavy metal tribute to the band's home state of New Mexico ("505! It's weird!" - this sung by Mr. Crandall), and finally, "Know Your Onion!"

So if you get the chance, check 'em out. On a more upsetting note, the Friday Modest Mouse show (with I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness and Explosions in the Sky - a mouthful of a bill, but 100% awesome) is sold out. We need two tickets, and as MC Pee Pants told us so long ago, when you need something, it's a responsibility.