The Shins at SOMA San Diego

SOMA San Diego was where you went for shows as a teenager. Concrete floors, all-ages, packed rooms, bands you loved. Seeing The Shins there during their "Wincing the Night Away" era felt like catching a band that had broken through but still remembered their indie roots.

The Shins occupy this interesting space - they're jangly and melodic enough to be accessible, but James Mercer's songwriting is smart and his melodies are genuinely crafted. They're not trying to be weird for the sake of it, but they're also not generic radio indie.

"New Slang" is the song that launched them into broader consciousness thanks to that Garden State soundtrack moment, and hearing it live at SOMA was one of those communal singalong moments. Everyone in that room knew every word. "Caring Is Creepy" had that driving energy that translated perfectly to the live setting.

What impressed me was how tight they were. Sub Pop indie bands sometimes get a pass for being a bit sloppy because "that's the aesthetic," but The Shins proved you can be polished without losing your soul. The guitars sounded crisp, Mercer's voice was on point, and the songs held up in a way that showed real craftsmanship.

SOMA's concrete floors and cramped space meant you felt every bit of the music. Standing there, packed in with other indie kids, all of us discovering or confirming our love for these songs - that's what all-ages venues are supposed to do. They create those formative music experiences.

The Shins proved that indie-pop could fill a room, could move a crowd, could matter. They weren't just bedroom headphone music - they worked live, they connected, they delivered.

I'm grateful I got to see them at SOMA before the venue closed. That space was so important to San Diego's music scene, and The Shins were exactly the kind of band that made it special.