Spoon at Baby’s All Right (photo by Kevin McGann)

 

It’s been three days since I got a text from a friend that said Spoon was playing at Baby’s All right and to get on it. And three days later I still can’t believe I saw them at such a small, intimate space. The surprise show on Tuesday 8/23 at Baby’s (right before they officially kicked off their tour with Interpol) was one for the books and one that the lucky few of us will never forget.

 

With no opener, the crowd grew more anxious as we waited for Britt Daniel (lead vocals/guitar), Jim Eno (drums), Alex Fischel (keyboards/guitar/backing vocals), Gerardo Larios (guitar/keyboards/backing vocals) and Ben Trokan (bass/keyboards) to hit the stage. Shortly after 9pm the lights when down, “Be-Bop-A-Lula” came on through the sound system, and Spoon took the stage. And it’s safe to say they were as excited to be playing to a small crowd as were those of us in the room were to see them. They played with the kind of raw, fun energy you would expect from a local band just starting out and not one that can play to a room ten times the size.

 

The setlist pulled from various albums released over their two-decades plus long career, including Kill the Moonlight which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Highlights included “Small Stakes,” and “Jonathan Frisk” from Moonlight, “The Way We Get By,” “The Underdog,” newer singles “The Hardest Cut” and “Wild,” “Don’t You Evah” and “Do You.” The entire four song encore was a highlight with “The Mystery Zone,” “I Turn My Camera On,” “Feels Alright,” and “Rent I Pay.”

 

It’s rare a band’s newer material is as welcomed as their older well-known songs, but tracks from Spoon’s recently released 10th studio album for Matador Records, Lucifer on the Sofa, were a natural fit to their current setlist and speak to the strength of the album. I expect to see it on many Best Of lists come the end of the year.

 

Don’t miss the next slew of dates along with Interpol and Water from Your Eyes or you’ll regret it. Not as much as missing this once in a lifetime gig at Baby’s, but still.

 

Scroll down for fan shot videos, setlist and pics of the show (photos by Kevin McGann)

 

Setlist: Small Stakes, The Way We Get By, Something To Look Forward To, Got Nuffin, Lines in the Suit, Wild, Metal Detektor, The Underdog, My Babe, The Hardest Cut, Lucifer on the Sofa, My Mathematical Mind, Inside Out, Don’t You Evah, Do You, Jonathon Fisk Encore: The Mystery Zone, I Turn My Camera On, Feels Alight, Rent I Pay

 

 

SPOON