I wasn’t sure what to expect from the band Joseph, who opened the night, but I was blown away. The stage lights came up, revealing the Portland-based band comprised of three sisters. The band is fronted by Natalie Schepmand and her sisters, twins Allison and Meegan Closner. The trio took no time introducing themselves, their powerful vocals an introduction enough, and launched right into their first song of the night, “Planets.” The trios’ powerhouse harmonies captivated the attention of the audience immediately. I loved the simplicity of the performance, their unique voices intertwining and harmonizing while Schepman played primarily acoustic guitar stomping her neon green cowboy boots on a pedal for percussion. They played an unreleased song, “Fireworks,” inspired by the show Love Island that got significant reactions from the crowd and followed it up with a cover of Brittany Spears’ “Toxic.” The sisters ended their set to the sounds of loud cheers and applause and did a phenomenal job getting everyone excited for the headliner, The Shins.
You could hear the buzz of conversation and laughter as the theater filled up with anticipation for The Shins’ to begin their set. People previously camped out at the bar came down to try and get a good view in front of the stage. As the sound check finished, the lights went down, and the crowd began cheering as the band members, silhouetted, emerged from backstage. When the stage lights came up, the band, all dressed in white, the cover of the album projected behind them, blasted right into the first track on the album, “Caring is Creepy.” Lead singer James Mercer’s vocals sounded even better than when the song debuted in 2001. The band tore through the album front-to-back, each nostalgic hit song one after another. On the third song of the set, “Weird Divide,” Mercer invited Joseph onto the stage to join in singing backup vocals. The trio’s harmonies lent beautifully to the slow, wandering melody of the song. Following the final song on the album “Past is Pending,” The Shins played several hits from other popular albums like “Simple Song” and “Kissing the Lipless,” which got huge reactions from the crowd. A new band member, Jon Sortland, was mesmerizing on the drums throughout the band’s set. Patti King on the keyboard and Mark Watrous on guitar also stood out, especially during the intro of “The Fear,” playing a hauntingly beautiful violin duet. When the night’s last song wrapped up, the crowd immediately cried out for an encore which The Shins did not disappoint, returning quickly to the stage with a few more songs, wrapping up the night of pure melodic nostalgia with Tom Petty’s “American Girl.”
Review by Tiffani Benya
Photos by Anthony Constantine
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