PHOTOS: JULIA LOFSTRAND | It’s a new era for Texan-made Spoon. A band with ten studio albums behind them, they have been steadily on the rise since the mid ‘90s, and critically acclaimed for it. Known for auspiciously taking chances with their sound, their latest album Lucifer on the Sofa was just dubbed by Rolling Stone as their best record yet. Digging deep into the vinyl crates for ZZ Top and Led Zeppelin, they sought out classic rock as inspiration for this new record, and The Observatory in Santa Ana with its roadhouse aura was the perfect venue to lay down their new twangy-rock track “The Hardest Cut.”
Los Angeles-based opener, Joy Downer brought an alternative lounge singer meets dreampop performance to the start of the night. An unexpected choice of opener for Spoon, the crowd was nevertheless engaged with her observational lyrics.
Given that I have seen Spoon two times in the last five months—once at the monolithic Hollywood Bowl, and then at secret show they announced at the smaller Teragram Ballroom—I had no doubt that the long-ass drive, which included merging into 7 different rush hour highways, would be worth it.
Enroute to the venue the day before and similarly stuck in traffic, keyboardist/guitarist Alex Fischel took over Spoon’s IG stories encouraging fans to ask him anything. He confirmed that his favorite Spoon bass line is on “Who Makes Your Money,” and that his favorite effects pedal is a JHS Colour Box V2, and entertained a request for “Lines in the Suit” to be played.
Opening with “The Beast and Dragon, Adored,” and “Don’t You Evah,” this show read like their jam-packed Everything Hits at Once: The Best of Spoon (2019). As precise as their studio albums are I find their live shows a more visceral experience. Extended instrumental solos and full-throttle endings to songs like “My Mathematical Mind” and “Got Nuffin” are the touches every fan wants to hear. And Spoon generously delivered, including the IG fan requested “Lines in the Suit.”
A no-nonsense band whose hooks wizardry is unmatched, Spoon are a quintet of craftsmen of the highest order, and Britt Daniel is one of the best frontmen around. With his raspy voice and too cool to care persona, the members of this band have always restored my faith in music from the soul with no stage gimmickry.
Revealing that it was founding member/drummer Jim Eno’s birthday, Daniel declared we don’t sing the happy birthday song, and the band jumped into “Don’t Make Me a Target,” a song he said was about the secular world in which, during the keyboard solo, he got down on his knees.
At the end of “I Turn My Camera On” the band departed the stage, and Daniel finished the song with an energetic guitar solo. The crowd stomped their feet and clapped until the band reappeared for a 5-song encore including a reverent cover of John Lennon’s “Isolation.” Closing the show with Lucifer on the Sofa’s “Wild” and “That’s The Way We Get By,” the night was just as I expected it to be—so worth the drive.
JOY DOWNER
