One of Chandra's friends was in town this weekend, so yesterday was spent playing in Atlanta. First stop was the Apple store so that I could check out the Timbuk2 bags. I liked the bags, but they only had boring colors, so I'll probably purchase something online. I also resisted buying half a dozen other things in the store...sigh.
Next stop was to go see "Supersize Me," which is a fun movie, if a little disturbing. I hope the guy didn't do any long-term damage to himself. Aside from the funny and alarming bits in the movie, one of the things that struck me was that the kid's meal portions at McDonald's are what the regular portions used to be back in the day. It's no wonder Chandra and I are usually satisfied with those most of the time (and hey, a toy!). Anyway, I highly recommend the movie.
The last part of the day was the Shins concert. Rogue Wave was the first act, and I could have sworn we were transported into an episode of "Smallville." Granted I've only heard the one set, but their vibe seemed to be that of the very earnest music you tend to hear on WB shows all the time. Opening act #2 was The Glands, who are actually a local band. Very tight outfit. Unfortunately, I got a little restless towards the end of their set, so don't know that I enjoyed them as much as I might have otherwise. Both opening acts played for about an hour each, which to my mind was a little long.
Anyway, once the Shins came out they put on a pretty good show. I was surprised that James didn't do the audience patter, but I guess that's not his thing. Instead, a spastic little monkey of a keyboard/guitar/bass player (and I mean that in the nicest way) chatted up the audience between songs. This was the first time I've really been able to listen to the Shins music without my brain doing something else, so I was pleased to notice that the songwriting seems to be really pretty good (interpret that as if it came from a Minnesotan).
And to cap it off, Chandra's friend went to high school with Mr. Shin (yes, I know that's not his real name), so we went backstage to chat for a couple minutes. We didn't talk about much of anything in particular, but I did come away from the conversation with a new bluegrass guy to check out...
Posted by Jason at June 14, 2004 09:33 AM