With August’s They Want My Soul, Spoon earned critical acclaim not just for their return to form following 2010’s lackluster Transference, but also for the Austinites’ place as a leading indie band. Yet what makes their studio work so vital also makes it hard to translate live, especially to festival crowds.
Starting their ACL Fest set with a double shot of new tunes, “Knock Knock Knock” and stellar lead single “Rent I Pay,” the local quintet pulled the lines of tension and release between Jim Eno’s percussion and frontman Britt Daniel’s horse howls before the raw chugging rhythms and chiming guitars of “Don’t You Evah” dove into more familiar territory.
Reaching back even to “Small Stakes” from 2002’s Kill the Moonlight, Spoon hit high points of the past decade, though leaned too heavily on Soul for the more casual festival audience. “Rainy Taxi” and “Inside Out” both helped lose portions of the crowd.
Mocking the misstep of Transference following “Who Makes Your Money” and even bemoaning playing opposite the Replacements – “We were trying to figure out who we needed to yell at about that,” laughed Daniel – “The Underdog” and “Don’t Make Me a Target” lifted the middle of the 15-song set, while “I Turn My Camera On” set up less compelling closers “Got Nuffin’” and “Black Like Me.”
“Black Like Me,” along with Soul’s Ann-Margret cover of “I Just Don’t Understand,” emphasized the challenge of Spoon live: Dishing perfect pop rhythm and grooves, but refusing to let them settle, instead intent to upend expectations and wrap around Daniel’s esoteric lyrics. It’s what makes Spoon one of the indie generation’s best bands on record, but a sometimes hit-or-miss proposition live.
This article appears in October 10 • 2014 and October 3 • 2014.
