Review/Photos: Spoon with Deerhunter and Micachu and the Shapes

Concert goers got their money’s worth at Seattle’s Moore Theatre show featuring Spoon with openers Micachu & the Shapes and Deerhunter. Britt Daniels, the lead singer and guitar player, swept up the audience the moment he walked on stage. He came out solo and began playing an acoustic version of “Me and the Bean,” from their first album with Merge Records, Girls can Tell. The lighting on the stage, for the moment, comprised of twinkle lights wrapped around and built into their gear. It was beautiful and unexpected.

Daniels followed the opener with a low-key version of “Mystery Zone,” from their newest album Transference with Eric Harvey on piano. The excitement could be felt as the crowd waited for more. Their gentle crescendo into a rock experience was genius. Their third song satisfied cravings for rock when the rest of the band-mates, Jim Eno on drums and Rob pope on Bass, joined the stage for “Written in Reverse.”

Saturday’s set list consisted of 6 Transference songs, 16 from other albums, and one cover. Although they must have played them one million times by now (perhaps a slight over exaggeration) the older songs like “Someone Something,” and “Back to the Life,” were given as much energy as the newer. To top it off, those who are familiar with Wolf Parade were ecstatic when they played a clever rendition of “Modern World.” (Coincidence or not, Wolf Parade is coming to the Seattle’s Showbox in a couple months. Again, genius.)

Transference has received great reviews across the board. It’s a different approach to their style after coming down from the highs Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga generated. It’s widely known that this is the first album they have produced independently, and to some fans, may seem to lack direction and sound sloppy, with Daniels regularly losing the last syllable of his lines, and more disjointed riffs. Without a doubt, anything Spoon creates is amazing, and listening to them sandwiched between long-loved songs certainly helped put them into perspective as a part of Spoon’s legacy.

Daniels obviously enjoying performing and the crowd enjoyed watching him. His confident, relaxed persona attracted all eyes to him as he got lost in the moment. The lighting also helped create a unique visual experience.  Without cluttering up the stage, large rectangular backdrops and boxes were placed irregularly around them. In sync with the songs, they shifted from color to color casting fittingly mood evoking shadows.

This tour is most certainly building up their endurance. Saturday was the second show at the Moore Theatre with the same set. They played for nearly two hours, until they were visibly exhausted. After 19 songs, they took a short break before returning for the encore and played four more. During the last song Daniels stumbled over his words but finished with obvious enjoyment.

Micacho & the Shapes put on a fabulous show. They did not dress to impress and looked as if showers were not allowed on tour (though I do believe they perfect the current Brit look). Rock was their only concern, and rock they did. A dissonant cacophony of chaos held together by a thread of sanity, which blasted our ear drums. It’s too bad many seats still remained empty while they played. They stretched the musical mind, and left it wanting.

Deerhunter also left us wanting, but not for more.  Other reviews of this tour had proclaimed that their performance had been so amazing that Spoon paled in comparison. Saturday must have been a fluke because Deerhunter fell flat. Lockett Pundt, the second guitarist, had his back to the audience nearly the entire set, it was hard to distinguish the differences between songs, and they didn’t look that interested in playing. Perhaps the next stop on the tour will yield a more energetic performance.

Review by Erin Harker.  Photography by Ross James.  www.rossjames.net

Take a look at more of our photos from the show below: