Britt Daniels, lead singing/songwriter for the Austin band Spoon, has one of those voices in rock ‘n roll that I don’t believe is real until I see it in person. His voice is so thick, raspy and all out cool that it can’t possibly come from a normal human being. It is unattainable by the common man, trust me, I spent all the my time this summer trying to mimic it while blasting Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga in the car.
Though the best thing about Daniels’ voice is that it holds up live. Returning to the Windy City for the first time since this summer’s Lollapalooza, Spoon has once again shown their Chicago fans that they are the masters of their catalog. Throughout the show, spoon moved chronologically from album to album stopping at all the highlights. Highlighting Kill the Moonlight with songs like, “Stay Don’t Go,” “Jonathon Fisk,” and “Someone Something,” before moving on to Gimme Fiction where they hit songs like, “The Two sides of Monsieur Valentine,” “I Turn My Camera On It,” and “I Summon You.” Finishing out their set with songs from their latest album Spoon ended the night with the closer-friendly “Black Like Me.”
Coming back out for a small encore Spoon officially ended their set with the rocking “The Way We Get By.” Overall, I think the fans at Lollapalooza were treated to a slightly better show. While song selection at The Riviera may have trumped that at Lollapalooza, due solely to the presence of “The Underdog” and “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” Friday’s show felt oddly rushed. Hardly stopping between songs, the band would finish one song and immediately plunge in to another one. Although, aside from the rushed feel of the show and over-crowdedness of the sold-out Riviera, Spoon proves they know how to please all their fans, new and old.
