Archive - Apr 29, 2009

On May 8th and 9th, High Lucy Nation will be hosting the Local/Regional Campout in Douglas, NE, just a short drive from both Lincoln and Omaha. Itchycoo Park is the venue, which is promised to be a beautiful area capable of supporting 2 days of music and camping, close to home. Hope to see you out there for some good times, and to support live local music in a truly unique venue. Click here for a list of acts!

April featured a bunch of great shows, but my most anticipated show of the month was a headlining spot by Austin natives Spoon. I've had many opportunities to see Spoon, but unfortunately never caught more than a rocking version of "I Turn My Camera On" as their set ended at Voodoo Experience in 2007. When I saw that they were returning to Houston as a warm-up for Jazz Fest, I immediately scratched it down on our schedule. The date came quickly, and we found ourselves in a usual spot – standing outside of Warehouse Live, ready for the show.

Spoon worked with the buzzing energy that had overtaken the cavernous ballroom from the moment they stepped on stage. Their set consisted of several older tunes, and a few new ones, but the night was mostly dedicated to their last two albums, Gimme Fiction and Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Highlights included an ever-so-dark version of "The Beast and Dragon, Adored," a penetrating "My Mathematical Mind" and a brief-but -satisfying "Utilitarian." The biggest crowd reactions, as you could assume, came during their biggest hits "I Turn My Camera On," "The Underdog" and "You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb." Britt Daniel, usually not known for being the most engaging frontman, decided to come out of his shell for the Houston performance. When they re-took the stage after a brief encore break, Daniel even proclaimed, "You're a rowdy bunch – we like that....I'm not gonna name any names, or any cities, but this blows last night away!" We found out a few hours later that he was talking about their own Longhorn-loving hometown.

Check out a bunch of photos and videos, including footage of a new untitled song from their forthcoming album after the jump.