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Watch The Shins performance at SXSW: http://goo.gl/lI6RT

The Shins' music frequently gets described with words like "enigmatic," "opaque" and "oblique." But leader and songwriter James Mercer doesn't understand why. "Oblique. What is that? Like, a triangle?" he asked us in an interview before his headlining gig at the Google Play/YouTube Presents shindig during the SXSW Music Festival. He insisted his melodies feel natural to him, his lyrics are easily interpreted metaphors and his newest album is even more straightforward than usual—then he proceeded to prove his point by leading a capacity crowd in a series of hand-clapping, head-swaying sing-alongs.

Well, okay, maybe the crowd didn't exactly sing along, let alone mouth the words, 'cause really, his lyrics can be kind of impenetrable. But that audience did go "Woo!" in all the right places as the sun set dramatically behind the state capitol building in Austin. And you can relive the experience yourself by watching the show here:

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