The Shins played last night. Heard of ‘em? I wasn’t able to make it to the show, but Stranger contributor Matt Garman was there, and I asked him to tell me all about it. Here’s what he had to say:

“During the final song of the Shins’ set at the Paramount Theater last night, I felt something brush my head. I turned around to find an adult-sized teen attempting to crowd surf. He got hurled over me, and flew toward my girlfriend. She made the judicious decision not to try and catch him, and down he went. On one hand, it was totally awesome to see someone crowd surfing at a Shins show. On the other hand, it was totally ridiculous to see someone crowd surfing at a Shins show. When he attempted a second time, only to go down again moments later, I laughed like the bitter old man I have become. It was possibly the most memorable part of the night.

If you are a devoted Shins fan, someone who not only knows the words to all the songs but dotes on James Mercer’s marital status, then the show was probably fantastic. If, like me, you dig the Shins but are fairly certain the only reason they’re playing the prettiest venue in Seattle is because they got Braffed in 2004, then the show was a tad underwhelming.

The band stuck to an even mix of songs from all three of their albums, making sure to play every up-tempo piece in the catalog, with the other half of the set reserved for their more well-known mid-tempo tracks. From where we stood on the floor, the sound in the room was full and crisp, and at one point Mercer exclaimed ‘If my voice sounds rough, it’s just something wrong with your ears. Clean the shit outta your ears!’

As for the audience, I was expecting a much higher douchebag quotient and was therefore happy to be surrounded by so many ordinary folks. They were an appreciative crowd—singing, hooting, texting their friends, calling up special someones during numbers you might hold a lighter up for in years past. Still, this is Seattle—people rarely dance in Seattle. Three different times the Shins asked if we were having fun. ‘You guys are so noisy and wild, we can’t hear ourselves think up here,’ said Dave Hernandez, the band’s bassist (and former frontman of the Seattle band Broadcast Oblivion). ‘Can you just be quiet and not move?’ Clever.

After playing for about 90 minutes, they returned for a two-tune encore, leading with ‘Someone I Care About,’ described by Mercer as ‘a Modern Lovers cover we’ve been messing around with.’ The song is a foot-stomping rock jam that gave the Shins an opportunity to flex their might as a tight and powerful unit (featuring Viva Voce’s Kevin Robinson on cowbell!), with the unforgettable lines, ‘Well I don’t want just a girl to fool around with / I don’t want just a girl to ball, no / What I want is a girl that I care about / Or I want nothing at all.’

Portland’s Viva Voce opened the show. The husband and wife duo of Kevin and Anita Robinson are a talented pair, with Kevin somehow playing guitar, drums, and…okay seriously I have no idea how that guy was playing bass and theremin and shit too, but he was making it happen. I feel confident that it wasn’t any pre-recorded nonsense, but I’m also just not tall enough to be able to see what exactly he was doing with his feet. Anita Robinson sang most of the lead vocals, and swung her axe in true guitar-hero fashion. They make a lot of sound for two people; my girlfriend called them a Bizzaro-world White Stripes. In the end, Viva Voce led me to the conclusion that guitar-solo wankery will always be wankery, regardless of the gender of the wanker. Also, if you’re going to pull out a double-neck guitar, please use both necks on one song. Just saying.”

Thanks, Matt.

The Shins and Viva Voce are playing the Paramount again tomorrow night. According to the Paramount’s website, tickets are still available via ticketmaster. They’re $25 a pop. But watch out for crowd surfers.