Spoon

I ventured out to Greenpoint to catch Spoon play one of my old haunting grounds, The Warsaw. Located in The Polish National Home, the venue is an vision of the past, boasting a grand ballroom, intricate molding on the ceiling, gold drapes surrounding the stage, and hot polish bartenders. I became a fan of Spoon listening to Series of Sneaks, their 1998 album off Elektra. I was interning at Matador Records at the time and the feeling was that Spoon had left to go with the commercial label with dreams of the major leagues. Elektra dropped Spoon after that album and they have continued to put out material, finding a steady home with Merge Records, their latest album titled, “Gimme Fiction.” Playing to a sold out crowd, Brit Daniels is a seasoned performer who by the end of the night pulled out all the stops. I saw him play last at Webster Hall and I’ve caught him playing solo at Irving Plaza, but my favorite stage performance was from an early Maxwell’s show back, where Daniels had kicked off the shoes and was playing in socks. So I screamed from the audience, “Take off your shoes!” Another way of saying, make yourself comfortable. After the next song I screamed my message again and some kid fifteen feet in front of me took over and started screaming, “Take off your shoes!” Daniels stopped and replied, “What’d you say, oh. Keep my shoes on. Thanks.” Spoon mixed up the set list playing such favorites as “Sister Jack” from his newer stuff, and “This Is How We Get By,” from the same titled album. In the encored he played “Car Radio,” a request that I had called out early on in the show. Definitely getting their recognition now, my friend Arie doubted that we would catch them at small venue again. So a little intoxicated from the show, (and the beer) strolling along Driggs Ave, I saw a girl riding a beautiful red Bianchi, circa 1988. I asked her if I could borrow her bike and she was a little reluctant but after I told her I too had a fellow Bianchi and offered my friend as collateral, she let me take a spin. I’ve asked girls to borrow their bikes before, but this was the first time that anyone has said yes. So a great concert, a free bike ride, what more can one ask for?

Tags:   spoon, warsaw

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Posted on 11/8/2005 ( Permanent Link )
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