Noise Punch I Pay For
Spoon 08/01/2014 : Metro – Chicago, IL
by Brenton Goodrich
It’s been a long while since I’ve seen Spoon. Their hiatus only grew the desire for new music and a live performance. Stoked to be with friends for their first show as well. I know how fun it can be. We had an amazing vantage point on the rail of the tiny balcony in this small club. Smaller than they usually play these days, but this was a Lollapalooza aftershow. It right away even made the setting up of the band’s equipment even more enjoyable. Mostly VOX vintage tube amps, Brit Daniels familiar yellow Telecaster, keyboards and guitars to the left, drum riser to the rear, new keys/effects setup rear right, and long-standing bassist Rob Pope on far right.
Leading off with two new songs from one of the best albums of 2014, They Want My Soul, the sparse “Knock Knock Knock” and the engaging new single “Rent I Pay”, is precisely a cool Spoon thing to do. “Rent I Pay” plays to the minimalist gone awry tendency of the band and was very well received. Brit Daniels has that cocky strut in the most eccentric laid-back kind of way….sort of a Joe Strummer-Tom Waits mix, and swaying his Tele out to the side just owned the crowd. This was also the first of many guitar freak-out flourishes from Eric Harvey who has taken on more 6-string duties in addition to his usual keys and effects. From there, they moved into some huge tunes from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga including “Don’t You Evah” and “The Ghost Of You Lingers”, an unsettling but dazzling track that has always sort of haunted me. Not sure I’ve seen this one live before. An unsettling dazzle may be another way to describe this band and definitely this night.
“Anything You Want”, with it’s awesome melodic bass line, and “The Fitted Shirt” from 2000’s Girls Can Tell, and others from the now extensive catalog were mixed in with new songs “Do You” and “Outlier”. The former is an extremely bouncy fun song that drew quite the reaction from this small energetic crowd and the band absolutely nailed it. The latter was one I was hoping to hear just to experience who was playing what and where all the sundry noises were coming from. It’s a dance song for those who love Rock and Roll but there was nothing forced or superficial about the delivery, just enchanting musicianship and very natural melodic vocals. Loved it! Later in the set we got the noisy rock bliss of “Don’t Make Me A Target” and “The Underdog” and the huge early hit “The Way We Get By” from 2002’s Kill The Moonlight. The set closed with the churning beat and burning guitar work of “Got Nuffin'” from their exotic 2010 album Transference. Encore contained the phenomenal new song “Inside Out” with it’s swirling synth-driven new wave beats and awesome piano runs I was so looking forward to seeing.
The overwhelming difference from this show versus previous I’ve seen is the fleshing out of the band. They’ve gone from a three-piece including a rotating member to a steady four-piece and now a five-piece that delivers even more noisy punch and complex embellishments. Some of the more memorable moments came from the fascinating sounds of the perfectly timed guitar and piano fills, some subtle and some in absolute chaotic fashion, and the well placed maracas and tambourine. No surprise, the band was full of energy from beginning to end and are, in the simplest of terms, a fun rock band with a certain appreciated edge.
Full setlist:
Knock Knock Knock
Rent I Pay
Rhythm and Soul
Don’t You Evah
Anything You Want
The Ghost of You Lingers
Do You
I Turn My Camera On
The Fitted Shirt
Outlier
Trouble Comes Running
Don’t Make Me a Target
The Way We Get By
The Underdog
I Summon You
Got Nuffin
Encore:
Inside Out
You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
Small Stakes
Black Like Me