Thursday September 26 marked Shining's first show in San Francisco. The Norwegian band were there to prove that they are worth all the hype, while make us feel a little sophisticated seeing some live jazz, albeit blackened jazz.
The evening started with a band that is escaping me, to be honest. All I remember is that the band was quite content in embracing the metalcore scene of 2006. A very odd way to begin an eclectic night of music.
Cormorant
Next up was San Francisco's "Post-black metal weird shit" masters Cormorant. You may remember Cormorant from the 2011 gem, Dwellings. That was the album that made me excited to see them. What was a surprise was when guitarist/vocalist Matt Solis announced that every song the band was playing was from their upcoming third album, which has yet to be recorded. I was skeptical at first, but the result wound up being a phenomenal set that made me look forward to the next album rather than feel like I was missing something not seeing them perform older material. Cormorant currently has an IndieGogo project to fund the next album, and I can't recommend pitching in more. The next album will be amazing.
Now the moment we had all been waiting for. Shining took the stage and, not surprisingly, began tearing through "I Won't Forget." It was clear that, for as good as One One One is as an album, these songs are meant for the live setting. Songs like "Blackjazz Rebels" and "How Your Story Ends" were taken to a whole new level when Jørgen Munkeby is right in your face blowing in his saxophone. The set consisted of about 50% new tracks, which is understandable, but the crowd went absolutely insane for anything from Blackjazz. "Madness And The Damage Done" was probably one of the best live performances I've ever seen. Also, "In the Kingdom of Kitsch You Will Be a Monster" is pretty high up there too. 
Jørgen is an amazing frontman and one of little banter, but when he is simply talking, a polite Norwegian Jekyll takes the place of the Hyde that was just present. This was most apparent when a polite French man requested the band play "Healter Skelter," which was bound to be on the setlist anyway, but Jørgen then began talking to the man about how many times he'd seen the band in France and assured him that it was coming up. Zero rock star shtick was involved, which was refreshing.
What was interesting was the turnout. Shining get so much press from all the metal media outlets, but there was maybe 30 people there. The show was initially supposed to be held at Slim's which holds roughly 400-500 people. Instead it was moved to the DNA Lounge upstairs room, which might hold 75-100. It's hard to say if this will be one of the performances that everyone in attendance will be able to brag about when the band is massive, or if this is the first and only headline tour for the band. Perhaps, Shining aren't quite ready for a full headline tour yet, but instead would be a great direct support for a prog lineup. How about, Cynic, Townsend, Between The Buried and Me, or anyone at their level?
I'm not at all disappointed by the show, but I wonder if the band can say the same. According to the vague 3-year plan detailed in my interview with Jørgen, it seems like you'll have another chance to see this awesome live force in the States. When you do, get on that shit!
The set I saw was quite similar to this…
