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indie-snob>+!#
Spoon @ randolph st. fest (6-21-03)
With calexico |
Street fairs are common in Chicago during the summer. There are a bunch of good ones, because all Chicagoans like to do is... well... we like to eat. They like to eat. People like to eat. Somehow, though, we get good band to appear at our streets fests, bands today like Spoon and Calexico. For those of you unfamiliar with Calexico... they're kind of hard to explain. An anomole if you will. Indeed, they are a band from Tuscon, Arizona. Indeed. They are on an independent Chicago label. However, I don't think any of you out there have ever heard such Spanish-influenced indie rock. The band combines Spanish-style acoustic guitars, upright bass, traditional sounding drums to Mariachi sounding trumpets in addition to a harpsichord-esque instrument, which provides the most interesting, unique sound of the band. Sometimes, it was difficult resisting the urge of a tango, cha-cha or salsa dance. Truly, it was. They played some truly wonderful tunes, enhanced by the shining sun (it just felt like you were in Mexico!) including their latest single (well, they have a video for it on MTV2), "Quattro," one of the best songs I've actually heard in a long time. They played a good mix of stuff off albums new and old, too, so it was nice for everyone. And then: Spoon. I have to say I had great expectations for their live performance, but my only experience with them "live" before was a taped session of Austin City Limits they aired on PBS a while back, which also featured Ben Kweller. But to be honest, I was a little disappointed with them. The band seemed very uninterested in pleasing the fans, by this I mean there wasn't really a lot of energy put forth by the band, thus not a whole lot returned by the drunk crowd. They played a couple good songs, "The Fitted Shirt," and "The Way We Get By" amongst the best, but overall, I truly was unimpressed. I think Spoon is a great band and I really like everything they've done, but it just wasn't an enthuastic live performance. The quality itself was good, and the band still played their melodic, indie pop gems. I guess maybe I just set my sights too high. Definitely some good stuff played though. (Although I couldn't help but notice the absence of my favorite Spoon song, "Believing is Art.") Meh. I'd recommend seeing both bands, though. Both Calexico and Spoon are really talented, even though they're very different artists. Happy concerting! (Note: Behind this review is a list of all good upcoming shows in Chicago. Obviously, this is more helpful if you LIVE in Chicago, but hopefully you'll make use of it) |