Concert Review: Spoon and The Bravery 12.3.20098 out of 10
This was only my third or fourth time going to a 96.5 "The Buzz" concert extravaganza. I am usually disappointed in other such events (like the one at City Market with Modest Mouse!). This particular event was dubbed "The Night The Buzz Stole Christmas".
We did not make it to the opening act (Metric). Sirius likes to play one of their songs non-stop, so my efforts in getting there on time were minimal (not to say the group is bad...).
I have seen The Bravery on two other occasions and I knew better than to expect a surprise here. Their latest release "Stir the Blood" received a less than enthusiastic "yay" from me. The band played through key songs from their three albums and I sat their mildly entertained. That type of electro-glam music usually does not do much for me. Especially when the lead singer (Sam Endicott) seems like he is trying to sound British even though he is from New York. I frankly cannot understand the majority of what was being sung.
Finally the super annoying Afentra and other key-Buzz DJ's made an appearance. I am always amazed at how out of shape and dorky looking DJ's are. Anyways...Spoon started their set and I was pumped. I had only seen Spoon on one other occasion (ACL 2007) and was greatly impressed then.
I wish I could say that Spoon killed it,,,but they really did what they do,,,rock out their songs in an efficient manner. It really makes the listener/fan ask the question "Did I come here to go crazy, scream along to songs, dance around, or did I come here to listen to a tightly knit group put on a show?" Aren't the answers to these questions really supposed to go hand in hand?
Overall, I really enjoyed the sound of the show. The group is obviously well rehearsed and skilled. Britt Daniels vocals are always dead on. The sound was infinitely better than The Bravery. After listening to their summer release non-stop, "Spoon X3", a three night live album from their Austin home town favorite "Stubbs BBQ", I was happily impressed at the show. It was a calm atmosphere as the crowd seemed to be as focused on the quality as I was. I will absolutely see them the next chance I get.