The first Summerfest day of July came in hot, with the temperature hovering near 100 degrees, but cooled off beautifully by a brief punishing rain.
It was with this backdrop that Britt Daniel led his five-piece band onto the Harley-Davidson Roadhouse stage at exactly 9:45 p.m. Daniel was clad in all black as he and his bandmates swaggered into the space. The crowd – which had been sparse for the opening act, Bad Veins – quickly filled up and everyone took their requisite stance standing atop the bleacher seating.
Spoon has been around the music scene in one incarnation or another since 1993, hailing from the deliciously weird Austin, Texas. The mood of the crowd was clearly Sunday funday – and Spoon was definitely in the mode of keeping that party going.
(PHOTO: Ty Helbach)
After brief waves to the crowd, the band launched in to the lurching rhythm of "Knock Knock Knock." As they took the song through its paces, they thrashed about with reckless abandon in front of a simple backdrop of illuminated trapezoids, some right side up and some upside down. The groove of the song immediately had the audience involved. Soon balloons with colored lights were bandied throughout the audience adding to the festive feel of the performance. After the song, Daniels paused to say, "Milwaukee, it’s good to see you. It’s been awhile since we’ve been here."
Then Spoon played one of their infectious radio hits, "Inside Out," with its shimmering keyboards taking the forefront of the throbbing song. Daniel sang of time going inside out, and with the beauty of the song, it felt like the crowd got to follow the band outside of time. When Daniel got down on his knees to passionately deliver some of the lyrics, it felt as if a bit of a revival tent atmosphere was taking place.
Spoon then reached back into its ample and vast catalogue to the 2001 album, "Girls Can Tell," for "The Fitted Shirt." It was angular, raw and lean – an encapsulation of what the band displayed all night for the gathered masses.
Daniel took time to give Summerfest a nice genuine plug, talking about what a good deal it is to be able to pay so little to see such a diverse line-up of bands. He and the band – comprised of Daniel on vocals, guitar and some keyboard; Rob Pope on bass; Alex Fischel on keyboards and guitar; Gerardo Larios on guitar and keyboard; and Jim Eno on drums – seemed to be reveling in the enthusiastic audience.
(PHOTO: Ty Helbach)
They then got into "Don’t You Evah," which they played with force as the vast majority of the bleacher standers were nodding their heads and swaying their bodies just enough as not to take the Summerfest classic dive off their perch. The simple, life affirming refrain of "Don’t you never be down" was seemingly heard loud and clear by those in attendance.
The hits just kept right on coming as Spoon next went right into "Do You." For a band that is supposedly "indie," the group has a surprising reservoir of material that was instantly recognizable and sent good energy into the crowd – which, in turn, would slingshot it right back at the band.
For the next song, "I Ain’t the One," Daniel laid down on the stage and belted out the words as the beat became increasingly machine like. Daniel then got up and the band exploded into "Hot Thoughts", the title track of the most recent record that Spoon's been touring on for the past 15 months. It is one of the most inherently danceable tracks of the band's long career – and dance the people did.
During "Can I Sit Next to You," Daniels prowled the entire stage, emboldened by the sexy, stealthy guitar stank that was happening. Then, out of nowhere, the song was washed away into the ether by a titanic, manic keyboard riff that seemed to wade across Lake Michigan.
By this point Spoon was in complete control of the night’s activities, so when they geared up for "The Underdog," Daniel already knew what was about to happen, yelling, "Milwaukee, let’s hear you!" You best believe that Milwaukee was up to the task, singing the song’s horn part back to the band.
The band seemingly finished with "Black Like Me," complete with the Summerfest choir singing along. But after a brief pause from the stage and abundant demands from the assembled, Spoon finished the night off with a three-song encore, ending with the raucous "Rent I Pay."
(PHOTO: Dan Garcia)
Earlier in the evening, Daniel told the Summerfest crowd that this was the indeed the last night of its tour. It was evident that Spoon was doing everything that it could to leave every bit of emotion and joy that they could with the last audience that they will see for the foreseeable future.
Summerfest was lucky to say that it captured this night of magic for Milwaukee. It did not seem like anyone who witnessed this was thinking about whatever Monday would bring. Nights like this are "the way we get by" around here as Spoon had so charmingly exhorted earlier in the night.
