Earlier this week, indie-rock mainstays The Shins took their Oh, Inverted World: The 21st Birthday Tour to the fabled Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Aug. 23. As they have done throughout this run, the group performed their debut album Oh, Inverted World in its entirety, before following up with a repertoire spanning second-set. 

The show started with a selection of Jonathan Richmond house music. Tuesday night’s opening act, ATO recording artist Joseph opened and sat in on several songs, adding some bonus harmonies. The run celebrated the group’s earliest music; however, James Mercer, the band’s founding creative force, is currently the only member of that group configuration still performing as The Shins.

The first set featured a complete run-through of The Shin’s celebrated original album, beginning with fan favorite “Caring Is Creepy” before moving on to “One by One All Day.” As the song wrapped, the band welcomed Joseph to the stage for a take on “Weird Divide.” Then, The Shins continued with “Know You Onion!” and “Girl Inform Me.” Next, Joseph reappeared for a pairing of “New Slang” and “The Celibate Life” and, later, a set ending “The Past and Pending.” 

For the band’s second set, they began with tunes off their celebrated 2007 album, Wincing the Night Away, with a three-song configuration that included “Pam Berry,” “Phantom Limb” and “Australia.” Then, The Shins visited their 2003 collection, which was captured on Chutes Too Narrow LP with “Turn a Square,” “Saint Simon” and “Mine’s Not a High Horse.” For the final tune of their set, the ensemble jumped to their 2011 repertoire with “Port of Morrow.”

For the night’s encore, The Shins began with “The Fear,” off their 2017 album, Heartworms, before concluding the evening with a return to Wincing the Night Away on “Sleeping Lessons.” The latter included an unforgettable interlude featuring Tom Petty’s seminal track “American Girl.” 

See the complete setlist below. 

The Shins

Radio City Music Hall – New York 

Aug. 23, 2022 

Set I: Caring Is Creepy, One by One All Day, Weird Divide^, Know You Onion!, Girl Inform Me, New Slang^, The Celibate Life^,  Girl on the Wing, Your Algebra^, Pressed in a Book, The Past and Pending^ 

Set II: Pam Berry, Phantom Limb, Australia, Turn a Square, Saint Simon, Mine’s Not a High Horse, Simple Song 

Enc.: The Fear, Sleeping Lessons*

Notes:

^ With Joseph 

* With Tom Petty’s “American Girl” interlude 
Setlist via Setlist.FM.