It’s been almost five years since we last saw Spoon in Australia, as part of the Groovin’ The Moo tour, off the back off their 2010 record Transference. A lengthy hiatus followed, resulting in the emergence of projects like Britt Daniel’s Divine Fits, who made it down here as part of Laneway a couple of years back. But now we have the group that rose him and his three other members (now four) to fame, and we couldn’t be more excited. But was the return worth the wait? You bet it was.
Supported by Hockey Dad and Deep Sea Arcade, I arrived in time to catch the latter – one of Sydney’s finest groups who recently underwent a bit of a personnel change. Now with only two members from its original incarnation – Nic Mackenzie and Nick Weaver – the talented quintet have added members from Doc Holliday Takes The Shotgun and Chicks Who Love Guns to their roster. And now a good six months into the new lineup, things are starting to sound pretty damn fine for the psychedelic ensemble. Newer material shines through and old favourites like “Lonely In Your Arms” are sounding better than ever.
One thing that’s easy to say about this band – as it always has been – is they know how to write a damn fine melody. Look no further for that than “Joanna”. Their set ended with another track we can fit into the sexy melody box, the brilliant “Girls”.
After a hilarious introduction from someone who was presumably a member of the crew, we were greeted to our favourite Austin group for the first time in far too long – performing in Australia as a five piece for the first time, adding Alex Fischel to the keys and backing vocals. “Rent I Pay” off their latest record They Want My Soul opened the night, with a set that focused heavily on it and 2007’s Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, with a few favourites from Gimme Fiction and Transference thrown in for good measure. Even Girls Can Tell and Kill the Moonlight got a brief listen in with the brilliant “Everything Hits at Once” and “Small Stakes”, respectively.
This is a band who have reached a point of their career – some 8 full length albums later – that it can’t be easy crafting their setlist every night. They not only have too many songs to choose from – but they have so many songs considered “fan favourites”, too. And then were would be the tracks that the band themselves love – Britt told me in our chat earlier today that some of his favourite material is off their 1997 EP Soft Effects. But somehow, they manage to craft a crowd pleasing set, keeping everyone in the room happy – including themselves. A testament to this saw the group throw in “Memory Lane”, a cover by one of their favourite Australian bands, Eddy Current Suppression Ring (RIP), during their four song encore.
Of course, I have my favourite Spoon tracks, and two of them – “My Mathematical Mind” and “The Beast and the Dragon, Adored” – made appearances tonight, as they did back when they played the same venue some 10 years ago. I do love Gimme Fiction, I have to admit. Both tracks sounded phenomenal tonight though, with the added influence of Alex Fischel allowing the band to give the tracks more live depth and some extra oomph. Two keyboards in “Mathematical…” really took things up a notch, as did the extended guitar breakdowns in “Dragon…”. During “Inside Out” off the latest record they even had three keys going at once…
And really that is something that has to be said for the whole show. With Alex added to the permanent mix, it’s allowed the band to achieve so much more on stage – while occasionally giving Britt the opportunity to just be a front man and not worry about jumping between instruments (as in “The Ghost of You Lingers” and “Who Makes Your Money” – though he did don some maracas for the latter). It’s also given some of their older material an extra layer that either wasn’t attempted live previously, or wasn’t even on the original recording. “I Turn My Camera On” was a particular example of this, with an extended intro and some stunning moments throughout. What a tune that remains!
In their return to the stage, Spoon have proved that they remain as relevant as they ever had. With new songs to push – including the unreleased “Satellite” – the band have never sounded better or more confident on the stage. And as a fan of the band for a good 12+ years, it couldn’t be better to have them back. This wasn’t just a trip down memory lane, it was a look towards an endless future from one of the finest groups hailing from the ol’ US of A. And I already can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
FULL SETLIST:
Rent I Pay
Small Stakes
Don’t You Evah
Who Makes Your Money
My Mathematical Mind
The Ghost of You Lingers
Rainy Taxi
Satellite
Do You
The Beast and Dragon, Adored
Everything Hits at Once
Don’t Make Me a Target
I Summon You
Inside Out
I Turn My Camera On
Got Nuffin
Black Like Me
Encore:
Outlier
Memory Lane (Eddy Current Suppression Ring cover)
You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
The Underdog
