Spoon @ Fowlers Live, Adelaide(13/05/10)

Mon 17th May, 2010 in Gig Reviews

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.

Spoon are an interesting phenomenon. Even in the perverted, misjudged indie canon they have, without dramatic musical or tonal shift, managed to release seven of the most consistently critically acclaimed albums of any band in recent history. Their angular guitar riffs, punctuating rhythms and gloriously interesting (though perhaps not always intelligible lyrics) are built for critical consumption. They’ve named themselves for a kraut rock song, yet their composition is more akin to that of a middle-American rock band. Their songs hit hard without need for great volume and they are punchy and brief – there are no long-winded jams or uneducated, freewheeling instrumentalisations (see the dichtomoy against their chosen name?)

But it is this strange combination that can make a seemingly middle-of-the-road indie band “special”. Theirs is a unique take on modern song, one with a distinct and discrete personality, and their moronically talent leader still has fun playing to a malleable formula. This is not just another run-of-the-mill “I love Gang of Four” tribute band.

The sound they have was fortuitously placed in Fowlers, too. They’ve recently struggled to keep up with the volume of some of their recent overseas visitors. In fact, 20th Century Graduates one of Adelaide’s most promising outfits, were louder than Spoon, exercising the limits of Fowlers’ dilapidated P.A. quite convincingly.

And that’s where the night started, quite literally. There was not a second to take a breath as the Graduates started at the positively unruly time of 7.45pm. Fowlers’ desire to seemingly creep the starting times of all bands, gig by gig until eventually we’ll have to leave work at 4 o’clock to see the support act is worrying but, for me at least, is starting to be accepted. Not that it had any negative effects on these guys. Led by the absurdly talented Jeremy Lake on drums and vocals they have sound that is lush, even gorgeous with horns punctuating beautiful songmanship with convincing melodic lines, swirling organs passing through only when invited and a two guitar attack that brings up some of the best comparisons. All on a bedrock of what is oppositional but well-placed bass work. The formula is there and to say that they sound like the greats of Twee-pop (think The Pastels), colliding with the indie-rock collective vibe (Broken Social Scene, Belle and Sebastian) with demure songwriting nous (The Smiths anyone). I don’t mean to simplify through comparison but they are truly the opposite of Spoon in sound and are more original than comparison can describe. Having said all this there is room to move for these guys. They can play a lush set, with lovely melodies and a party vibe, but at the same time they can get bogged down by the auteur nature of Lake’s dominion. The weight on his shoulders at time seemed too much and, with the raw talent dancing around that band, a greater, shared responsibility could bring about a clearer elucidation of his undoubtedly beautiful rock n roll image.

In perfect line with the morning start time of the Grads, Spoon graced the stage just before 9pm. Despite the worth I see in their lyrics especially, I’ve always considered myself more a distance observer than a late-night lover, a band more deserved of respect and appreciation than an enduring love.

Still, this casual indifference was balanced with high hopes for them live. Their sound doesn’t immediately lend itself to concert superiority, and they clearly had to work hard to be better on stage but, lo and behold, they were. An hour and a half of Britt Daniels unbridled, dementoid passion, pulled together with some aggressive bass work and repetitive – yet still mind-altering – two, three, and four note keyboard lines turned out to be a pretty good hour and a half. Where their records can sometimes sound somewhat (dare I say it for fear of accusations of blasphemy) “samey” live, they are a very serious version of a party. The pointed nature of their instrumental style mesmerises, and though unlikely to induce further purchases of their records as a result, I’ll race back to the ticket vendor next time.

And, for all intents and purposes, the set-list was as successful as their sound. It excited the casual fan, and came mighty close to pleasing the die-hard. Warming up with some new stuff they got straight into the popular tunes with You Got Yr Cherry Bomb , successfully kicking off a run of typical Spoon catchy riffing. Their new album worked early on as a song like lead single Got Nuffin from new album Transference captured the new stripped-back band that seemed a slight rejection of Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga’s pitch-perfect production; giving ample opportunity for Daniel to exercise his mawkish but powerful charisma. Soon enough it was straight back to that album with the haunting Ghost of You Lingers and within the space of 5 or 6 songs they’d successfully displayed more variety than I knew they were capable of. All songs were quick, often over in what seemed like a second – and highlights were, quite simply, common. There were old school moments of note as Me and the Bean got a guernsey from Girls Can Talk while Vittorio E. and Small Stakes were played in double-shot, nicely splitting the gig with a one two speed-salvo from Kill The Moonlight. The balance favoured their later work – tracks such as I Turn My Camera On, The Beast and Dragon, Adored and notable guitarific highlight My Mathematical Mind.

This doesn’t cover all the night’s songs or highlights, but it captures its variety: the set-list took the shape of a career arc that didn’t necessarily rely on all the singles. The encore was more of the same as some of their punchier songs came through to end the night in party mode. The scintillating Who Makes Your Money along with Back To The Life yet again showed their pop smart credentials, while finishing with Jonathon Fisk acknowledged the commitment some of the long term fans out there have shown. All in all it was a party, guided by the heavy handed yet playful charisma of Britt Daniel but carried by the songs and the sound of a band highly in tune with each other.

Well they made a bigger Spoon fan out of me and there’s not much more you can do to a reviewer who often only reviews bands and artists he’d climb Everest for. Neither band on the night suffered from sharing the stage and I think appreciation for both grew as the night went on. Spoon’s new album may be stripped-back, quieter, encasing less of the pop chord combo’s that have leant them many a casual fan. They’ve matured with most every release and while I hadn’t seen them before, I’m sure they’ve matured a lot in the live context too. Top notch.

Thank you to Lauren Adler for being an awesome and hugely informative plus one.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE.