On January 19th, to the extreme delight of fans worldwide, Spoon released their newest album, ‘Transference,’ a week early. Album after album, Spoon has continued to bump their heads on the bar, raising it over and over and Surprise! They did it again.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, have someone near and dear to you give you a solid punch in the face, and then listen to it… REPEATEDLY. Somewhere in there, run to your computer and try to track down tickets to their Vancouver show at the Orpheum this Sunday. As good as the album is, seeing them live is even better.
I was lucky enough to catch them a couple of years ago with a fantastic opener, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears. Now, Spoon didn’t hide in the back, waiting for their turn to go out and do their job. Nope, they were front and center, enjoying a beer, and showing their support for their warm up band. Black Joe were hotter than anyone expected, and amped up the sold out club.
Once Britt Daniel and the boys hit the stage, they took the energy and kept increasing it with hit after hit. They played every song without ever letting it feel like they were just duplicating their album, or thinking about the next city (something that’s all too common these days). Spoon put every last thing they had into making it the best show that they possibly could. Needless to say, I walked away determined to see them again, and again, and again.
All of the above is why I’m going out of my way to fly back to Vancouver and catch them on April 11, but this time with Deerhunter as well as Micachu and the Shapes. I’m not exaggerating here; if this show is half as good as the last time I saw them then it promises to be an early contender for show of the year. Not only are they going to be picking select songs from a near bottomless pool of amazing tracks, but they’re one of the rare bands around that’s made it big and still loves playing for their fans. In the age of ghostwriters, and bands that have a face without volume, don’t miss your chance to catch these Texas rockers playing their ass off, making every note one to remember. I know I won’t.
– Pig
