The Shins Bookended By Sad Canadian Moment

Kool Haus

Toronto, ON

on Mar 17 2007

Noah Love (CHARTattack)

03/20/2007 3:00pm

"You OK with The Flow?" a cabbie asked shortly after picking me up on Saturday night on the way to the Kool Haus. Initially I said I was, but then got him to change it to CBC Radio 2 when I remembered this was the final night of Grant Lawrence's Saturday night CBC Radio 3 broadcasts.

The show was heavy on nostalgia. When the driver switched the station, Weeping Tile were on the air. They were followed by a lengthy and hilarious interview with Sara Quin from Tegan & Sara. By the time that finished, the cab had arrived at the Kool Haus.

As much as I was looking forward to seeing The Shins, I couldn't help feeling a little sad that that would be one of the last times I'd hear Radio 3's excellent programming. Not quite the last, but I'll get to that later.

In a funny way, The Shins remind me of the Saturday night broadcast. They're warm and funny, and their songs are engaging and comfortable. Maybe they aren't entirely risky, but three records in, I don't think they've made any serious missteps (granted, I'm also seemingly one of the few people on this planet who likes "Sea Legs," but to each their own). The Shins crowd, however, has drastically changed since they opened for Preston School Of Industry at Toronto's Horseshoe Tavern in 2001, largely due to the strength of the infamous appearance of "New Slang" in Garden State.

Indie fans have all but abandoned these now-chart toppers, and they've changed their live show accordingly. Gone are the long breaks between songs and the reckless energy during performances. The set was far more controlled, rehearsed and geared toward the lighter-waving crowd who are more familiar with "Phantom Limb" than "Pressed In A Book." That is to say, if you were drunk on this St. Patrick's Day, you probably sang along to every word at the show because it was possible (where the songs omitted from the night would have prevented it).

That isn't to say the show was a dud. On the contrary, The Shins played pretty much every hit they've ever written, balancing the set list fairly evenly between all three records. "Kissing The Lipless," "Caring Is Creepy" and "Sleeping Lessons" all gave lead singer James Mercer a chance to let his vocals soar in the packed Kool Haus, and the group were in great spirits, literally.

"Happy St. Patrick's Day," Mercer said a few songs in. "I think we've all had about three shots of Jameson's."

For the record, various members of the band wished the audience happy returns of the drinking holiday about six times. Banter wizards they were not.

The popularity of "New Slang," which was surprisingly played mid-set, has led the band to re-imagine "Girl On A Wing" as a slowed-down ballad. Can't say I prefer the new version since the performance often lacked the bite found in "Fighting In A Sack" and "Split Needles," but I also can't say I ever really loved "Girl On A Wing" in general.

The encore featured a stellar cover of Pink Floyd's "Breathe" and Modern Lovers' "Someone I Care About" before ending with Chutes Too Narrow hit "So Says I." I don't think there was a face in the room without a smile on it, but that's because they were all hammered and heading off to get even more plastered.

And I got back in another cab, where I caught the tail end of the last Radio 3 broadcast. The official last song was a live and incredibly sombre performance of The Weakerthans' "Left And Leaving" by a solo John K. Samson. It was an incredibly touching conclusion to what's been consistently the best terrestrial radio broadcast of the past six years (Radio Escapades and Sonic before that were pretty great, too).

On Monday night, Radio 2 debuted a new slate of programming that had no focus whatsoever. Over the course of three different programs, I heard The Books, Alanis and JackSoul. In the Monday's Toronto Star, the network's programmer claimed they'd have something for everybody, but this method ensures nobody will be engaged for more than one song at a time. It kills me that this came at the expense of Brave New Waves and the always awesome Radio 3 broadcast. Congrats, Ceeb! You've just given countless Canadian music fans even less reason to tune in. I encourage every fan of Canadian indie music to complain to CBC for taking away its best programming.