Spoon Played Union County Music Fest - Pictures, Review

Those of us willing to brave the menacing clouds (and a trip to Jersey!) last night were treated to a stellar set from one of our very favorite bands. Spoon headlined the little-known Union County Music Fest and proved they just might be the coolest cats to ever step foot in the sprawling suburbia known to some as The Armpit of the Nation. Only an hour outside of New York City, we found the former golf course Oak Ridge Park a perfect place for a festival and it was obvious that the band did as well.

The small two day fest featured a curious mix of bands (Train? Soul Asylum??) and Spoon was preceded by the 60s British pop-rockers The Zombies (Maybe hippies aren’t all dead after all.) Still, Spoon ruled the night and the kids up front who stood outside for hours on this cloudy and cold September day let them know it. Running through a conspicuously Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga-heavy set that started with “Don’t Make Me a Target”, the guys were loose, and Britt Daniel connected with the crowd even more than usual.

Clearly a summer of heavy touring behind Transference has allowed the band finesse those newer songs. “Nobody Gets Me But You” and “Trouble Comes Running” have evolved into killer live tracks and sounded better than ever. A few older tunes included a beautiful version of “Me and the Bean” and the always rockin’ “Jonathan Fiske.” Britt also branded a hollow-bodied electric and taped a lyric sheet to his mic to cover “No Time” and pay tribute to their friend and former tourmate Jay Reatard, who died tragically in January.

The encore included on an extended version of “Small Stakes.” In the end, it never rained beyond a mist and everyone went home happy – especially those of us lucky enough to see Spoon again tonight - see you there!

Words and Photos By Chris Goldberg

Many more pictures in the HAD Archive