Review: Shins rock out at Kent State

Photo by Megan Wilkinson.

When I went to The Shins concert at the M.A.C. Center, I didn’t know what to expect. I had never heard of them before. I had never listened to them before. I hadn’t planned to go to the concert until about the week before.

But I was looking forward to the new experience.

When I arrived at the concert, I was a bit surprised to see a small crowd of a few hundred people surrounding the stage. Many students in the crowd wore flannel shirts or jean jackets with thick-rimmed glasses.

The opening band came out after about an hour’s anticipation. Relaxer, the opening band, is a four-person alternative rock band from Akron, Ohio. Their sound was different, filled with instrumental sections, deep bass tones and major and minor chords in the same song, sometimes. To be blunt, their songs often lasted several minutes, feeling as though they would drag on forever. Their lead singer, Joe Scott, crooned sound out when he was not strumming his guitar. Sometimes, his words were interpretable; other times, it was difficult to make out whether he was singing or simply moaning and humming.

“Their songs were really long, but I really liked their songs,” Shannon Large, sophomore early childhood education major, said.

Overall, Relaxer had an interesting mix of upbeat tempos, melodic guitar chords and entertaining synthesizer music but sometimes dragged on much longer than I felt was necessary.

At last, The Shins came on to loud applause and great enthusiasm from the crowd. This indie rock band had an electrifying mix of sounds. Singer James Mercer captured the crowd’s attention with his smooth voice and upbeat vocals, hitting different ranges of pitches.

“James is so cool,” said Jake Tunnell, a pharmacy student at University of Cincinnati who traveled all the way to Kent to see The Shins.

The Shins played many of their songs – old and new, including “The Rifle’s Spiral” from the 2012 album “Port of Morrow.”

Tunnell said his highlight from the night was hearing songs from the album “Port of Morrow.”

“I listened to the song ‘Port of Morrow’ live, and I guess that was a song I didn’t really like – it’s probably the one on the album I skip,” Tunnell said. “But I listened to it really closely, and the meaning hit me. Now it’s like one of my favorite songs.”

Students swayed and held lighters and cell phones during songs, such as the acoustic “New Slang,” a favorite of Large.

“I love The Shins because I love their kind of music and style and everything,” Large said.

For never hearing The Shins before the concert, I would say it was an awesome experience. It was exciting and fun, and I listened to great music. The Shins definitely exceeded my expectations with their eclectic mix of smooth guitar rhythms, exciting lyrics and memorable tunes.