The Shins - Main Stage

The Shins took to the stage with a dark and lengthy chilling build-up to their set on the Main Stage – in stark contrast to the second sweltering day at the Carling Weekend: Reading Festival. 

Keyboardist Martin Crandall maintained the eerie mood, echoing elements of Muse, until the band launched into their familiar brand of chilled out rock combined with spatterings of indie. 

As crowds swarmed onto the fields to lie back in the sunshine, The Shins answered the call for something both relaxed and entertaining, with tracks spliced with traditional folk music. 

Gone for Good proved a hit as trilby-topped James Russell Mercer belted out lyrics ‘it took me all year to put a poison pill to your ear’ with a voice so distinctive it can be likened to a bell chiming in the darkness. 

Despite the heat, the jumping mass swelled to see the four from Oregon as they played a set perfectly fitting the mood of relaxed excitement in the arena.
The meaningful lyrics of So Says I proved a sure-fire crowd-pleaser and well known Phantom Limb got even the most relaxed to their feet. 

No one could escape the feet-tapping lure of a band who showed the mark of true professionals with an astounding ability to read a crowd, and who fully deserved the fantastic reception they received.

Claire Carter