Speaking of Spoon…
Just got an email mentioning they added a Seattle show for 9/5 at the Showbox. Kevin & Matt, here’s your second chance.
Hipsters around the block unite!
It almost felt like everyone made a stop at Urban Outfitters before showing up at the Capitol Hill Block Party on Saturday, July 28th. Lemme tell ya, premo people watching for the year happened here. And I have to say, all was pretty much a good time except the big clusterfuck of a crowd in the beer garden by the stage while Spoon was on. Never in my 15+ years of concert going have I been in such a messy crowd of people shoving, grabbing and being downright mean just to get out of the crowd. It was very uncomfortable. Ok, ’nuff said about that. John Vanderslice was a highlight playing his indie-pop tunes. He came out at the perfect time, late afternoon with sun shining and the crowd pretty much non-existent. Britt Daniel was spotted many times (by my friends as well as myself) meandering thru the beer garden and into Caffe Vita. Next up on stage was Aesop Rock. Not my cup of tea so headed into the Comet for some PBR tall boys then out for some food at the Six Arms afterwards. Made it back for Spoon where we ran into the aforementioned crowd of unpleasantness.
Spoon’s New Album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga Leaked, Rocked, Reviewed, Dug
Background
I think Spoon’s A Series of Sneaks is one of the best rock albums ever recorded. It’s about as perfect as they get for me… track after track of Quality Listening ™, ala Pixies’ Surfer Rosa.
Ok, bar set.
Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
Naturally, further Spoon — or any — material is going to have to blow my mind to measure up to Series. Spoon’s new record Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga doesn’t measure up. (Spoon’s good song/bad song ratio has been getting worse since Girls Can Tell.)
[But the sky is not falling. Gimme Fiction's "I Summon You" is brilliant. No other word for it. The rest of Gimme doesn't stack up, but that track is as near to perfect as music gets. How to follow that up?]
At first listen, a friend said “Don’t Make Me A Target” sounded like that other song of theirs. Probably she meant “I Summon You” — one of a handful of Spoon songs on her laptop — in which case I understand her point…
Britt Daniel of Spoon Moves to Portland
Britt Daniel of Spoon has moved to Porland in the last couple of months, joining a recent influx of artists to the city. The Talent Tractor Beam of a city has also claimed outstanding ex-Seattle singer Laura Veirs.
Britt Daniel Intimate Accoustic
Last night Britt Daniel, of legendary Spoon fame and responsible for 5 of the best albums of the past decade, played to an intimate crowd of about 150 at the Crocodile Cafe as a benefit for Muscular Dystrophy Research. As Spoon is a band that normally sells out venues like the Bowery Ballroom in NYC within 2 hours, it was a surprise to be standing 3 feet from the action and NOT be slammed against everyone else. The intimacy of this setting made for a rather quiet and self conscious start for Britt. Once the crowd showed it’s obvious adoration for him, the colar and guitar strings began to loosen and there was a steady increase in volume and energy as the songs kept pouring forth.