At the inaugural Eaux Claires festival in 2015, Justin Vernon and company created a field journal for the festival with brief descriptions of the artists performing. For Spoon, Vernon and his crew simply wrote: "Category: American rock band.
Category closed." There is no better description really to describe Spoon. They are all things rock 'n roll, with melodies that burrow deep into your ears, a front man, in Britt Daniel, who oozes rock 'n roll swagger while remaining unbelievably humble, and a band that has endured more than two decades of performing and recording to get them to this point in their career.
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photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch
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Simply put- Spoon are masters of rock. Being one of the most consistent bands of the past two decades, it is arguably impossible to find a Spoon album that disappoints listeners. This year's
Hot Thoughts, like the six other Spoon records released from 2001 on, will make frequent appearances on many music fans' top albums of the year lists, including mine. Building on the increased production and nuances that punctuated tunes on 2014's
They Want My Soul,
Hot Thoughts delivers a collection of well-crafted, infectious tracks that deal with trying to find meaning amidst the confusion found in our modern world.
Hot Thoughts, also sees Spoon creating more soundscapes to pair with their catchy guitar driven tracks, and may be their most ambitious record since 2005's
Gimme Fiction, in terms of sonic risk taking.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
The increased emphasis on production translated well into Spoon's live performance, as they delivered the most memorable show I've seen them perform to date. With screens, lights, and rock star effects, Spoon entered the Pabst, not as a buzz band, but as a bonafide rock 'n roll jugernaught. New tracks from
Hot Thoughts stood up masterfully amid a plethora of career spanning songs during Spoon's hour and forty-five minute performance.
Hot Thoughts highlights included set opener, "Do I Have To Talk You Into It," which got the crowd on their feet with heads bopping. "Pink Up," a track that employs some "Radioheadesque instrumentation" and heavy layering, translated even better live than it does on the record, and was a jaw dropping performance to witness live. Spoon had so much confidence in this experimental track that they saved it until the encore.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
Moreover, other tracks from older Spoon releases got revved up re-workings to fit with Spoon's new production set up. "The Beast and Dragon, Adorned," perhaps my favorite Spoon track, off of 2005's
Gimme Fiction record was performed under heavy layers of red lighting. Likewise, fellow
Gimme Fiction stand-out "My Mathematical Mind" was draped in green hues of light and turned into a poignant mid-set jam. "Don't You Evah" and "The Underdog" sounded fresh and rejuvenated even though they've been Spoon set list staples for a decade. With an encore performance that featured a show closing, foot stomping rendition of "Rent I Pay," off of 2014's
They Want My Soul, the jam-packed capacity crowd buzzed amongst themselves while exiting the Pabst Theater, knowing that they experienced something special-- an American rock band at the height of their powers.
Opening for Spoon was Twin Peaks. They provided a solid set of high octane pop punk and garage rock tunes that jammed. Twin Peaks, in many ways, was a perfect opener for Spoon as the Chicago, Illinois based quintet also oozed rock 'n roll at its pure essence. The reckless abandon of guitarist and vocalist, Caiden Lake James made Twin Peaks a most enjoyable band to watch. Their set featured a heavy amount of tunes from their most recent release, 2016's
Down in Heaven. Twin Peaks received a loud and appreciative reception from the capacity crowd at the Pabst, the majority of which were standing up admiring the raw energy of a hard-working band on the rise.
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| photo courtesy of Gigshotz by Stephen Bloch |
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