Skip to main content

Duck & Cover Wants Your "I Saw Them Back When" Story


Because we all have at least one . . . hell, some of us are one

It was 2001, and I was still living in Wichita, KS. Dakin, smart boy that he is, had high-tailed it to Seattle the previous year. Since arriving, he'd been diligently emailing me bands I needed to hear. Of course, most of the bands he mentioned had little more than an EP out, thus making their discovery in the Bible Belt somewhat rare. Thank god, then, that we still had Napster (or KaZaa, actually. Napster had just been shut down a few months earlier, come to think of it) because Dakin had told me the latest must hear: a little band from New Mexico called The Shins. I downloaded all I could; listened, loved, and decided I had to see them live.

That year The Shins were touring to promote Oh, Inverted World. Being that they were a relatively unknown indie band at the time, they were hitting a lot of the college towns in the mid west. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to catch their show at my local college town (Lawrence), so I drove to the next nearest: Norman, Oklahoma.

They were booked in at the Veterans Hall to play an all ages show (read: no beer). The "hall" turned out to be the basement, and all the ages were definitely of the under variety. No stage lights hung from the ceiling because there was no stage. When it was time for The Shins to go on, they simply got up off the couch, picked up their instruments, and walked into the corner and started playing.

I remember a huge hole right in front of where they were playing and the fact that James Mercer had a cold. He would occasionally wipe his nose, and toss the tissue behind him, which piled as the night progressed. Each time he turned back around he would say, "I'm really sorry. I know that's kinda gross."

The music, however, was fantastic. If you've ever seen The Shins, imagine that same energy and playfulness in a basement with about 50 other people.

So what's your "I saw them back when" story?

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

May Day Is Lei Day

For the past 31 years in Honolulu, the Brothers Cazimero have hosted an annual May Day variety show at the Waikiki Shell Ampitheatre (because May Day is Lei Day!). When living there, I had the privilege of attending twice, the last time being the 30th anniversary, and just after the sad passing of the legendary Don Ho. Both times were, at the risk of allowing my cynical mask slip, magical. The May Day show is great fun, and follows the format of an old time variety show -- there is an aura of glamour interspersed with a decidedly camp sensibility, with hula stars of past and present gracing the stage. Spirits are high, and the banter among the performers is priceless; at times it feels as though you've wandered into a family reunion, and are a long lost cousin -- instantly at home and enveloped in the warmth. It's a time to celebrate the spirit and culture that truly do make the islands such a special place. There's a song that plays before the Sunset On The Beach movies...

The Racoon Wedding :: Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth

Download The Paper Boy from The Racoon Wedding's album, Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth Sounds Like : they're gonna rip your ribcage out and find your heart RIYL : White Rabbits, Portugal. The Man, Fanfarlo, Rolling Stones ala Beggar's Banquet From the Press Release : Forming from the ashes of Vermicious Knid, and authoring songs in the basement of the all ages not-for-profit art space they own in a nook of the city’s forgotten downtown, frontman Tim Ford and company boast a sense of loyalty to their community that few other bands share. On their debut LP, Gather Gather Bones/Rattle Rattle Truth , issued this October via their own Ford Plant Recordings Co., the band enlisted the help of engineer Leon Taheny (of the Final Fantasy recording credit) and hammered out a record that teems with the spirit of long-forgotten roots music. It’s indebted to the history of mighty back porch music: unbridled, unedited, beautifully intense.

Contest! Design the Official Decemberists Show Poster

On March 18th, The Decemberists will give the debut live performance of their epic new song cycle The Hazards of Love when they headline NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin. To mark the occassion, Capitol Records (who will release the album on March 24) and Imeem are inviting fans to design the official poster for the showcase with a contest -- the winning design will be hand-picked by the band and contestants can enter on the Decemberists' Imeem page . The Decemberists will play The Hazards of Love, in sequence, in its entirety. Joining all five members of the band on stage will be Lavender Diamond’s Becky Stark and My Brightest Diamond’s Shara Worden, who lend leading vocals to the album. Opening bands are North Carolina trio The Avett Brothers, set to debut songs from its forthcoming album produced by Rick Rubin, and bluesy rockers Heartless Bastards, riding the success of its third record, The Mountain. The concert will begin at 10pm CST and will be str...