I just got home a bit ago from a very sold-out appearance by The Shins at the Domino Room here in Bend and I'm pleased to say that this rehashed version of the band far exceeded my expectations.

In fact, James Mercer and crew -- cheered on by an incredibly appreciative audience -- looked to be in rare form with an hour-and-a-half-long set that included plenty of hits from the old days as well as a couple new tunes. These small-venue Oregon shows the band is playing were said to be warm up gigs for their appearance at Outside Lands, but as far as I could tell, they've already ironed out most of the kinks that typically come from a new lineup.

Here's a quick video from the show, in case you were one of the many, many people who weren't able to get into this (almost) surprise gig.