Spoon At The Fillmore: Night Three

Night three of Spoon at The Fillmore was all about the fans. It was the show (of the three) that sold out first, the band played a fan-created setlist, and the crowd was packed in like devout sardines. Faced with a room of adoring masses, the band completely delivered. The set included old favorites, new tunes, and even a brand new cover. It was a night that perfectly wrapped up an awesome three night run.


The Heavenly States opened in top form, and gave their most energetic set of the three night run. They seemed infused with an even greater sense of rock and roll than on previous nights, and seemed more relaxed and at home on stage. They wrapped up their set with a killer cover of Jon Spencer's "Bellbottoms" that really smacked the crowd in the face with a fantastic wave of noise.

Spoon's set was largely composed by one of their fans, who apparently delivered it to them on Tuesday. It showed, too: it featured a number of songs that hadn't been heard from the band in quite some time. Rogue Wave member Gram LeBron guested on "Sister Jack", and John Vanderslice made a third appearance on "You've Got Yr Cherry Bomb". "Anything You Want" was well fleshed out, and was the best version we've heard the band play. The encore featured a killer version of "Car Radio" that really kicked things into high gear.

As we've mentioned previously, the band had brought in a horn section for these shows, and they were present last night as well. They really fleshed out every song they played on, but perhaps the most interesting moment came at the end of the set. For the first encore, Britt Daniel took the stage with only the horns backing him and dove headlong into a cover of Van Morrison's "Jackie Wilson Said". The cover was fantastic in so many ways, and really served to further emphasize that Daniel's songwriting really has its roots in some classic material.

As the night came to a close, we were put in to a state of realization that this is truly a band at the top of their game. Their live show is rock solid, their records are both critically and commercially successful, and they are keeping their shows intimate and genuine. To see them deliver such fantastic material night after night is a treat, and can only serve to further their success as they head towards their next record. Suffice it to say, we're looking forward to it.

Setlist

Many more photos at the HAD Archive