Spoon and The New Pornographers, Live, Together, in Portland (As well as Conor Oberst AND Hop Along, in Boston)
Last Friday I went down to Boston to see Conor Oberst (aka Bright Eyes, but recently he's taken to producing work under his own name, with a variety of backing bands). Years ago, Concor Oberst was deemed the unbelievably honorable title of "this generation's Bob Dylan" with his songwriting abilities. His live shows have always been energetic and filled with amazing examples of his varied abilities, relying on not just the strength of his strong voice. The guy is an incredible musician and, as evidenced by the groups of bands I've seen him play with, much like Bob Dylan, he can conduct a band like no other, bringing out their strengths as well. The first time I saw him was under his moniker of Bright Eyes and it was more of a "best of" setlist after putting out an album called "The People's Key" which was a disappointing, experimental album (which happened to be his last album as Bright Eyes to this date). Then, I saw him a couple of years ago and his backing band were The Felice Brothers (whom also opened the show) and that was one of the best shows I saw. Thankfully, they seem to really gel as musicians because this tour also includes The Felice Brothers (minus their own singer/guitarist). Conor Oberst's set this time around included just about everything a fan like myself could've wanted to hear, especially 2 songs from "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning."
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(Bright Eyes song)
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(Bright Eyes song)
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(Bright Eyes song)
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(Bright Eyes song)
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(Bright Eyes song)
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- Encore:
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(Solo)
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(Neil Young cover) (with Frances Quinlan of Hop Along)
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(Bright Eyes song)
What sold me on going to this show, though, was the fact that Philly indie band, Hop Along, was opening for him. They are one of my favorite "new" discoveries. Her voice is absolutely incredible. I first show them open for Modest Mouse a few years ago here in Portland and they blew me away. Then, I saw them open for Built to Spill last year in Boston. Every time I see them, I just got lost in the music. These guys are definitely a band worth checking out. Their 2 albums are fantastic, but it's their live shows that will sell you, immediately.
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The next night, Saturday, Spoon was in town (Portland) with The New Pornographers and both bands put on one hell of a show, but Spoon definitely stole the show as the headliners. I've loved Spoon since my sister introduced them to me back when she was in college and I listened to "Girls Can Tell" which is still one of my favorite indie rock records of all time. They since changed their sound to be more atmospheric, but with a definite hint of pop that still allows them to be just mainstream enough. Perhaps their most popular album has been "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga" and honestly the last 3 albums they've put out haven't really struck me, but I did not want to miss the opportunity to see them again (having seen them maybe about 8 or 9 years ago in Boston). My sister had seen them the night before, in Boston, at an outside venue, and her review left me nervous because she said it was underwhelming. But, let me tell you, I think this show was one of their best, and I think it helps that they seem to love Portland, ME. In fact, the last time they were in town (which I missed because I was participating in the Trek Across Maine), their were some local musicians that put on a tribute to them after the show at a small club and the band showed up and ended up playing with them. This time around, Spoon seemed to save their energy for the State Theatre because they played incredibly tight. And Britt Daniel is one of the few frontmen that I've witnessed direct the band through the end of songs, telling the drummer and other members how many notes to play and when to end songs by holding up his fingers. Holding up 2 fingers, then 3 fingers, 2 fingers, and finally 1 finger before ending the song. Sure, they played some of their more atmospheric songs, including an instrumental break halfway through, but they definitely brought the indie rock into their set as well.
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- Encore:
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(First U.S. performance)
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Aside from the vocals seeming to be drowned out during the New Pornographers set, I thought they sounded really great. They were minus the strong vocal presence of Neko Case, though, probably for a good reason, like working on her own solo stuff. But, I was extremely happy to finally get to see them, and on the same bill as Spoon, seemed like a Christmas gift.
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