Capitol Hill Block Party: 7/28
By Steve
Somewhere in that blackness is Spoon playing at the Capitol Hill Block Party in Seattle on Saturday the 28th. I attended with the lovely and talented Ms. Sizzle Says. (Whom, as you can see in the accompanying photo, is like three feet shorter than I am.) It was an all-day event, but I wasn’t really familiar with any of the other bands. We caught a bit of John Vanderslice, who was… fine and OK and whatever. 
Ms. Sizzle is a fan of Against Me!, the band that preceded Spoon. They were also OK. They sure did shout enthusiastically. It was your basic angry punk music, sounding like a less Irish Dropkick Murphys. (Which isn’t a criticism; both bands shout a lot.) There were a lot of political messages buried in the mix a bit, ones which the crowd surfing furries (don’t ask) surely grokked.
The crowd got pretty big for Spoon, and they certainly didn’t disappoint. They rolled through a nearly 90-minute set, mixing in most of the tunes from their current CD “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga” with some of the “greatest hits” from the past (”Everything Hits at Once, ” “The Fitted Shirt,” “Take a Walk,” “Me and the Bean,” “The Way We Get By,” and a killer version of “Jonathon Fisk“).
They were tight but not boringly polished. They had a lot of energy, and Britt Daniel was in fine voice. (And here’s a random Spoon/gaming fact: Daniel used to work for Origin Systems in their sound FX department. ) Spoon just sounds cool.
In other news, The Simpsons Movie. It’s worth seeing more for all the throwaway gags in the periphery, which is generally true of all great Simpsons episodes. My favorite line? The always quotable Ralph Wiggum, upon seeing a naked Bart Simpson riding through the streets of Springfield after a dare from Homer: “I like men.”
Awesome.
July 30th, 2007 at 9:58 am
for the record, i’m technically one foot shorter. let’s not go overboard, studly.
and sometimes a girl just needs a little angry punk yelling. spoon did rock though. i’m a convert!
July 30th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I’m feeling more and more “old” in taste (chronologically anyway - I’m proud to say I’m still satisfied with immature & shallow media of the “blow stuff up” variety as much as I also like deeper things these days) when people who were around when Rush was have entirely moved on, and I’m still here trying to hit all the classic rock bands in concert before they’re dead.
(Hi sizzle!)
July 31st, 2007 at 12:59 am
Hey, she just called you “studly”.
Studly Steve.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:17 am
Down, Sparky. Down.
GyRo, dude. Step back from the classic rock. Embrace the new hotness. (And Sparky digs Rush. So let’s all humm some Tom Sawyer, but go buy the new Spoon CD.)
I’m almost 40 and still uncovering new bands.
July 31st, 2007 at 1:20 am
I wanted to get the new White Stripes album, but the 2LP set was $30.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:30 am
I’m liking Steve’s music blog. If you ever start a music magazine, I can review Broadway shows.
July 31st, 2007 at 11:43 am
I’ll write the fan letters about vinyl and Mozart with emulated crankiness.
July 31st, 2007 at 7:36 pm
If Steve ever starts a music magazine, I can write a monthly column about sea shanties.
July 31st, 2007 at 9:31 pm
All of Sparky’s columns would be about Rush.
“Geddy Lee: His Voice Is Really High.”
“That Neil Peart Has Rhythm.”
“Alex Shreds!”
“2112 Is Awesome!”
July 31st, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I’ll also talk about how Boston - Third Stage is better than Boston - Boston.
August 2nd, 2007 at 10:36 am
Ooh, can I handle the Celtic Punk column. Talk about Floggin’ Molly, Dropkick Murphys, The Pogues, The Tossers and such! I listen to a lot more than that, but when I compare my music selection with others, that is the one strong point that I don’t see replicated in their collections.
Hmm, but what to talk about. This album is great, lots of songs about drinking and death and poverty.
August 3rd, 2007 at 12:50 am
Don’t forget they’d be full of enthusiastic shouting.
August 4th, 2007 at 9:59 pm
Maybe I should listen to these Spoon tracks. hmm.
I’m still totally unglued that you didn’t like The Black Keys. And no reaction to the Holly Golightly tracks I sent? I’m hooked on that stuff.
Funny…I found this blog (I forgot you had it) via Google looking for Cannibal Sea reviews.
August 5th, 2007 at 1:13 am
Those Holly Golightly tracks were fab. But for whatever reason, the Black Keys were just “meh.” I’ll give ‘em another listen.