The Shins | Viva Voce

10-Mar-2007, Winston-Salem, NC

The show opened with a raucous set from the husband and wife duo Viva Voce (Italian for "word of mouth.") Even though I wasn't hip to their sound before the show, I can say that I'm definitely a believer now. They have sort of reverse White Stripes thing going, with Kevin on the drums and Anita on guitar. Speaking of, she can flat out tear one up! Kevin has a great sense of humor and even later re-appeared on stage with The Shins to add "more cowbell" to one of their songs.

The Shins are no slackers. I've read other music press that lauded them as the "hardest working slackers in Indie-rock" or something to that effect. Not the case. They played a non-stop set that drew upon all three of their studio albums, but most notably from their latest offering "Wincing the Night Away." Anita from Viva Voce joined them on-stage for a few of their songs, notably "Phantom Limb" and "New Slang." I didn't keep track of a set list and I was hoping I'd find one on-line, but apparently the crowd was full of slackers.


James Mercer was relatively quiet between numbers but keyboardist/guitarist Marty Crandall more than made up for it. He played to the audience and cracked a joke about being in a city that was named for not one but Two cigarette brands. He even made up a new little ditty on the spot about Winston-Salem. Crandall and all of the members sported smiles the entire night, and seemed to be very genuine, almost reluctant stars. I appreciate seeing performers that are non-affected, who come across as approachable, even likable, despite having legions who follow them.

Photos by Nilina Mason-Campbell