SPOON
CAROLINA THEATER, DURHAM, NC
APRIL 13, 2008
WORDS AND PHOTOS: MEGAN SOMERDAY

When 'SUP told me I would be meeting Britt Daniel in person if I agreed to tag along with one of their writers to the show at the Carolina Theatre in Durham, my first thought was "Awesome -- one of my favorite bands, plus they're really famous!", followed quickly by, "I hope they don't want me to stay for the whole show..."

See, even the prospect of meeting and photographing one of the best songwriters of the '90s didn't do much to boost my enthusiasm for the show. For one thing, they had booked a seated venue, which didn't bode well for potential rocking-out. For another, the last time I had seen them (at a Merge Records party at Carrboro's venerable Cats Cradle), their live show left me sorely disappointed. While their album work is nothing short of brilliant, something about that concert felt flat to me. It could've been that they lacked the production that made my two favorite records of theirs, Kill the Moonlight and Girls Can Tell, so catchy and ever-listenable, or maybe it was that the crowd wasn't enthusiastic enough or possibly they just had an off-night. The unusual way they revised the instrumentation on "Paper Tiger" was that show's saving grace, and I had no expectations of more than that coming into this show.

Anyway, I digress -- back to Sunday night in Durham. Another thing I couldn't understand was: "Why Durham, rather than Carrboro, clearly the indie rock center of the North Carolina?" I was reluctant to drag my lazy ass the 10 miles to the venue just to see a lackluster performance from Spoon, and I admit it was the lure of meeting Britt Daniel and shooting the interview with him that drew me more than the prospect of the music to follow. After the interview, nearly an hour was spent just walking around downtown Durham to find some food, to no avail. For Chrissakes -- what a wasteland.

It was with this in mind that I sat down for the Spoon concert waiting for the perfect moment to inquire about early departure. We caught the end of the Walkmen show -- catchy and unobtrusive, but nothing that got me too worked up, plus the audience was still seated. Then Spoon themselves came onstage and everyone jumped up. I have to admit, for being such a fan I still haven't listened to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, but the opener (which must've been from that album since I didn't recognize it ["My Little Japanese Cigarette Case" - Ed.]) was really good. Maybe it was the fact that my photographer's pass let me stand literally right next to the stage, but the lights combined with the energy and swagger of Britt Daniel's stage presence were incredibly engaging. Everyone around me was singing all the words to every song that came on -- these were some very loyal fans indeed.

Spoon's music has always been very catchy and danceable, and their live adaptations, while deviating enough from the album versions to keep things interesting, held up in this regard. They played at least one song from every album (even Love Ways!), which, given the considerable musical scope of their career, lent some nice diversity to the show. There wasn't so much banter from the stage that it got in the way of the rockin', but everyone in the band exuded good cheer and maintained a good rapport with each other as well as with the crowd.

They asked for encore suggestions from a very enthusiastic audience, although whether they actually took any of these suggestions, I'm not sure. Unfortunately, "Lines in the Suit" never found its way into the setlist despite all my fervent hoping. That didn't detract or distract from my enjoyment of the show, though. It was pretty obvious by the end of the show that I had stayed until the end of the show, which is to say that I had forgotten all about asking to leave early. It's not that I ever consciously decided to stay -- the thought of leaving just never entered my mind once the show got under way. Chalk it up to Spoon's power of performance, or Britt Daniel's engaging presence, or the influence of very loud music very up close. Whatever the factors are, all I know is next time Spoon comes around, I'll be waiting for the show to start rather than for it to end.