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Spoon Thanks to our friend and Popscene co-founder Aaron, V and i were on the guest list for the performance of venerable Texas indie rock combo Spoon at Popscene, a venue significantly more petite than the theaters they usually frequent. I have to give Aaron a huge amount of credit, which comes with no small amount of irony since this is the same guy to whom i sent hate mail in 1996 after he cock-blocked me backstage at an Echobelly concert. He has turned Popscene (as well as Live 105, where he spends his days) into an international bastion of indiedom, and now can lure top acts to perform at the long-standing club. The club's history is impressive, having welcomed bands including Bloc Party and Kaiser Chiefs to San Francisco. Countless times have i discovered a new indie favorite and found Aaron had already booked them to play (or worse, booked them to play last month). Spoon commanded a line around the block, which luckily we were able to bypass through the VIP entrance. Ah, to know people. During the minutes we did wait for the bouncers to let us in, we were treated to several indignant scoundrels in various stages of being thrown out. Britt Daniel and co. came on at 11pm. I am a big fan of Kill the Moonlight and especially its predecessor Girls Can Tell, and dig the more recent Gimme Fiction while not being as conversant with it. The group, whose heads were barely visible to me over the sea of jostling fans, launched into their characteristic nuanced indie rock on two songs i didn't recognize, then built slowly into the organ-driven "Small Stakes" from KtM. Spoon do quite a good job of beginning a song with a relatively unremarkable riff, then building it through repetition or layering into a complex rock tune. This was evident in their set in songs both known and unknown to me. I only recognized "Stay Don't Go" and "The Way We Get By" from KtM and "I Turn My Camera On" from GF, but i found my head bobbing to every single track. The band took the somewhat unconventional step of leaving the stage and returning for an encore, given the fact that at 330 Ritch you have to walk through the crowd to get backstage. Today i'm in a bit of disbelief over this show. I enjoyed it as it unfolded, but wasn't spellbound. However this morning i was listening to Kill the Moonlight and thinking "i saw these guys in a f@$#ing club?!?!"
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