The Shins'
Wincing the Night Away is about to be released, and Natalie Portman's favorite life-changing rockers sound like they're ready to be catapulted from indie darlings to mainstream mavens (a la Death Cab for Cutie, circa 2005's
Plans). The band enjoyed a stint as the musical guest on the most recent
Saturday Night Live episode, playing their latest single, "Phantom Limb," along with the old standby "New Slang." Incidentally, this makes them the first Sub Pop band to play the show. Nirvana
did rock SNL in the early '90s, but they'd moved on to Geffen by the time
SNL came
a'callin'. Anyway, The Shins were damn good.
Rolling Stone gives us the inside scoop on the night's events:
As the band was preparing to play New Slang, legendary SNL producer Loren Michaels ordered them to make it quick, but the Shins didnt hold this against him. Instead they later asked for a photo with him. Half the band tentatively traipsed from their booth to the cool kids table in the back of Docks restaurant/after-party headquarters where Gyllenhaal (in a trucker hat) and Michaels (in a suit) were chatting. Later Scarlett Johansson showed up and caused a restaurant filled with famous people to pretend not to notice her.Oh, those silly famous people.
The Shins have also announced some dates for their upcoming tour, which will take the band from Milwaukee to London during the month on February. Here's to hoping they'll extend that little month-long jaunt, and
here's where you can find out more specifics.
