I Just Read About That…

[ATTENDED: June 24, 2026] Spoon 

This was my fourth time seeing Spoon, a band I’ve never been a huge fan of.  That sounds worse than I mean.  I’ve liked them for years and I like many many of their songs, they were just not one of the bands that I got really into.  And yet, I will see them all the time when they play because their live show is so good.

I can’t believe it’s been four years since they last came to Philly.  That time, they cancelled and rescheduled a concert in 19 days (and even had new T-shirts printed with the new dates!).

My wife came along with me for The Beths (which she loved) and was indifferent to Spoon.  She had seen them with me at the PNC Bank Center in Holmdel when they opened for Beck seven years ago.  I told her that they would be better and more fun in this setting and she agreed they were (at PNC they played when it was still light out).

Spoon was headlining, but they still played a shortened set.

I assumed that this tour was an opportunity to play the two new songs that they’d released not too long ago (and which WXPN loves).  But amazingly, they didn’t play either one!

Chateau Blues and Guess I’m Fallin In Love are great songs and would have been so much fun to hear live.  But instead, they opened with a song from their debut album, one I hadn’t heard yet.  If I thought The Beths’ crowd was excited, they had nothing on the Spoon fans, who went crazy for this old song.

We were nearest to Alex Fischel, who is so much fun to watch.  So much so, that singer Britt Daniel spends a lot of time watching him too.  It’s odd that Britt introduced Alex and drummer Jim Eno but not bassist Ben Trokan or multi-player Gerardo Larios.

I told my wife that she’d know a few of the songs because they do get a bit of airplay.  She knew (and really enjoyed) The Hardest Cut.

Spoon songs soun distinctly Spoon so even if you don’t know a song you’ll feel comfortable with it.   But my wife recognized I Turn My Camera On.  And I was psyched to hear My Mathematical Mind and The Way We Get By (the woman behind me–who screamed a lot–was also happy to hear that one and sang along for a bit, but not too much, thankfully).

Then they played two songs I hadn’t seen them play before–2 deep cuts from their second album.  They followed that with the amazing The Underdog.  Such a fun song.  It’s got horns on the record but the live version doesn’t miss them.

Britt is a really fun frontman–he points and smiles at people, he really engages with the audience.  I’ve no idea if he’s a nice guy or a cocky jerk, but he definitely enjoys himself on stage.  It’s pretty amazing that this is my fourth time seeing them and they played five (older) songs that I hadn’t seen them play before. And one brand new song Lose Control that hasn’t been released as a single yet.

My wife was feeling really tired and hot (what is with the A/C at the Fillmore?)  It was crazy stupid hot, so she headed to the back to get some fresher air, but she told me to stay where I was, so I did.  Other people must have left too because it seemed like there was a bit more room. So she wasn’t nearby to rock out to Chrry Bomb and Rent I Pay (although she said she mildly rocked out from over by the bar).

I knew they were going to play an encore, but for perhaps the first time, I hoped it wouldn’t be four songs!  I felt bad that my wife was flying solo.  So they ponly played 2 encore songs, the great pairing of Do You and Got Nuffin.

I relized that there were quite a few songs that I assumed they’d play and didn’t, which goes to show that I like Spoon a lot more than I think I do.  The last time I saw them I said I didn’t tihink I’d need to see them again.  But after this show, I think I definitely need to see them again, because this double bill was great, but not enough of either band!

Ø Girls Can Tell (2001)
¢ Kill the Moonlight (2002)
ψ Gimme Fiction (2005)
∇ Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007)
≅ Transference (2010)
Û They Want My Soul (2014)
⇑ Hot Thoughts (2017)
⊗ Everything Hits at Once (2019)
£ Lucifer on the Sofa (2022)
§ single (2026)