[review] Spoon @ 9:30 Club (3-22-2010)

Spoon!

Guest writer and Spoon aficionado E-Rock recently caught Spoon's DC show at the 9:30 Club. Above is the acoustic opener of "Me and the Bean" which looks is the best I've seen live. Spoon will be swinging through Seattle next month for two shows at the Moore - don't miss it.

Spoon Show How It’s Done in DC

submitted by E-Rock, guest Three Colours contributor

Spoon delivered a very strong performance to a sold-out crowd at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. The set plus encore included a full twenty-three songs. Britt Daniel’s vocals were fresh and the crowd was very enthusiastic throughout the entire performance.

Spoon chose to sample heavily from their more recent work, taking almost equally from Transference and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. No pre-Girls Can Tell tracks were included. Nonetheless, the set included a great selection of the Spoon repertoire and had excellent flow. The first series of songs were deliberately more downbeat and slightly more serious, starting with a great minor-chord acoustic version of "Me and the Bean." A rousing rendition of "Don’t You Evah" kicked off a much more energetic series of songs; highlights included "Don’t You Evah", "I Turn My Camera On", and "Got Nuffin", while "Written in Reverse" sounded stronger live than on their LP. During the encore, the “rowdy crowd” (in Daniel’s words) kept the band going for five songs, including an especially strong version of "Jonathan Fisk." Spoon looked very pleased by the end, as did all in the crowd who witnessed the show.

At their core, Spoon is a band that turns a collection of very simple sounds and textures into great music, coupled with strong, memorable lyrics. These aspects of their music are all the more obvious during a live performance. The bedrock for the band is provided by Jim Eno, a master of exciting, repetitive beats. Eno propels the songs forward on his simple kit and sets the proper tone. Multi-instrumentalists Rob Pope and Eric Harvey rounded out the band and provide backing vocals, bass, keys, organ, and percussion including well-placed tambourine. Stephen Patterson (of White Rabbits) was also in tow to provide percussion and guitar support. But the focus of the band has always been on leader Britt Daniel, who was really on fire. He offered great singing and hoarse growls throughout the night, and his guitar work included simple cords to great, messy solos.

While I would love to hear more from Kill the Moonlight (my personal favorite Spoon album) or "30 Gallon Tank" (my personal favorite Spoon single), I have no real complaints for the night. Spoon served up a great all-round live show. While their brilliant studiocraft is hard to top, Spoon’s live performances stood up well, propelled the show forward, and never ceased to entertain. I will not miss Spoon the next time that they come through my town, and neither should you. Also be sure to check out Transference (and Girls Can Tell or Kill the Moonlight) if you haven’t already done so.

The night was captured by Nestor Diaz, which some great pictures can be viewed here.

9:30 Club Spoon Setlist (3/22/2010)
Me and the Bean (Acoustic)	Girls Can Tell
Before Destruction	Transference
The Beast and Dragon, Adored	Gimme Fiction
Love Song (The Damned Cover)	Sweetheart 2010
The Ghost Of You Lingers	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Who Makes Your Money	Transference
Don't You Evah	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
I Summon You	Gimme Fiction
The Mystery Zone	Transference
I Turn My Camera On	Gimme Fiction
Is Love Forever?	Transference
Don't Make Me A Target	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Someone Something	Kill the Moonlight
Written in Reverse	Transference
Got Nuffin	Transference
Trouble Comes Running	Transference
My Mathematical Mind	Gimme Fiction
Black Like Me	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Encore
Nobody Gets Me But You	Transference
You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Rhthm & Soul	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Jonathon Fisk	Kill the Moonlight
The Underdog	Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga