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SPOON

Spoon and Socials (photos by Rachael Barrett)-5

Chevron Festival Gardens

Thursday February 12, 2015

The Premier had opened the Festival Gardens earlier in the evening, so who better to cleanse the palate than the band who played a big part in saving Merge Records and therefore independent music in general. Spoon have grown in popularity on each tour of Australia and in their fifth visit to Perth they had no trouble in filling the Chevron Festival Gardens to the brim.

Taking no time at all to hit their straps, Spoon launched into Rent I Pay with gusto and kept the same energy and quality throughout. The Austin outfit have a sizeable catalogue to draw from and are a seriously gig hardened unit that are so tight they could stop on a dime. Britt Daniel leads the troops as an accomplished showman who points his guitar to the crowd and drop to his knees for guitar solos when he isn’t commanding the microphone.

The band that were labeled the ‘Artist Of The Decade’ by Metacritic have grown to a five piece with the release of their latest album, and were predominately dressed in black. Clearly founding member and drummer Jim Eno didn’t get the memo as he bucked the trend with his white shirt but as always was rock solid with his hard hitting style. The sharp riffs were still ever present but the synths have been pushed to the fore with The Ghost Of You Lingers and The Beast And The Dragon, Adored.

Daniel was in fine voice with just the right amount of rasp to give the tunes the bite that they need. Do You has a hook that doesn’t abate and The Way We Get By kept the high energy set chugging along nicely. Eric Harvey was busy jumping from guitar, keys, vocals and percussion appearing to immerse himself deeper with each tune as he convulsed and contorted to give his all with some of the most unbridled rock moves going around.

The song that found its way into episodes of Veronica Mars and signified Spoons steady rise, I Turn My Camera On was given a lengthy intro that led to no complaints as punters savoured Rob Pope’s loping baseline. If there is any criticism of Spoon it would be that their dogged clinging to their signature sound may lead to some of the songs sounding the same. So, when Daniel grabbed his acoustic guitar for Black Like Me, not only was it a point of difference, but the joyous backing vocals make it a striking moment in the set.

Tipping their hat to locals Eddy Current Suppression Ring with Memory Lane was a nice touch for a band to tend to leave no stone unturned, before saying their farewells with a spirited version of The Underdog to put a end to another faultless night at the hands of Spoon.

CHRIS HAVERCROFT

 

 

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