The Shins

Tonight Kelly and I (along with our friends Miranda and Brian) saw The Shins perform at the Crystal Ballroom. We all met up at McMenamins Ringlers Pub for dinner and drinks before the show. When Kelly and I first arrived, our server listed off some new beers they were serving (brewed at Ringlers, not sure if any of the other McMenamins carry them or not), one of which cought my attention, a Scotch-style ale on nitro. I had one and it was fantastic. Dinner was also very good. The show started at 9pm, so shortly before we went on upstairs to a packed Crystal Ballroom. I'd forgotten until that moment that the show was a sponsor-filled event put on by the local radio station 94.7 FM. It was full, very very full.

The opening act was a great local band Viva Voce, who I'd been wanting to see for a while. Miranda, Brian and myself had seen The Shins once before, about a year ago (Kelly missed out due to a work event, if I remember correctly), and again, they were fantastic. They played a lot of new material from their upcoming album (released on January 23rd), Wincing The Night Away. The stage was decorated with Christmas lights, and their 'entry' song was the Vince Geuralid song "Christmas Time is Here", from the cartoon A Charlie Brown Christmas. Kelly was smiling a very big smile, as Christmas time and that film (and song) are closely intertwined and always put a smile on her face. The whole show was great fun.