Spoon: Live At The Electric Factory

Hailing from Austin, TX, Spoon have really made a name for themselves on the indie circuit as of late. In fact, I would go so far as to say that with the release of their most recent album, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga," Spoon have established themselves as the most consistent American indie rock band since Pavement. I got lucky enough to be able to see them play in Philly the past Friday night, and I can tell you that they were absolutely amazing.

I honestly didn't know what to expect out of these guys live when I first walked into the venue. Spoon are one of my favorite bands, but I did not have any grasp at all on what they would sound like live. Unfortunately, opening band The Ponys failed to show up, for some shady reason that I really don't remember. We then just stood around until 9:30 or so, when Spoon took the stage. They immediately jumped into a string of 4 or 5 songs, not even so much as taking a break in between.

When they did finally stop to talk with the audience, I was surprised at lead singer Britt Daniel's stage presence. At one point I could distinctly smell marijuana smoke, and not a few minutes later, Britt smelled it too and asked if someone could pass it up to him. It wasn't the greatest stage presence I've ever seen or anything, but he did a good job of keeping the audience amused.

I think they played about 26 songs overall: 8 from "Ga," a surprising 8 from "Gimme Fiction," 5 from "Kill the Moonlight," 3 from "Girls Can Tell," and two other songs, The Minor Tough, off "A Series of Sneaks," and the song they opened with, which I didn't recognize. Overall, as much as I would have liked more songs off GCT, the set was a solid mix between old and new. Their new songs are so good that it doesn't really matter anyway.

From where I was in the fourth row, the sound was great. I really thought that after the first few songs, the sound guys really got the levels perfect. Britt's voice sounded great, as did the rest of the band. Plus they brought out horns for a few songs off the new record. The horn section even played on Stay Don't Go and Jonathon Fisk, which were totally awesome because of it. Overall, this was a great show; Spoon really rocked it out. My favorite songs as performed were The Fitted Shirt and Jonathon Fisk. I recommend seeing them if you ever get the chance. I also recommend listening to these songs if you've never heard them.

Spoon - Rhthm and Soul
Spoon - The Fitted Shirt