Spoon performs at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on April 19, 2022.
“Chicago showed up,” declared Spoon’s Britt Daniel after the no nonsense rock band kicked off its April 19 Chicago stop at the Riviera Theatre with scorching performances of “Don’t You Evah,” “Do You” and much more. “Wow, thank you for selling this place out.”
A little later, he also thanked fans for waiting in the cold in the long line to enter noting that he “could tell it’s gonna be a special night.”
“I might sound like Joe Strummer by the end,” Daniel joked.
Daniel’s voice remained rasp-free throughout the over-90-minute performance, however he and his bandmates – Jim Eno (drums), Alex Fischel (keys, guitar), Gerardo Larios (guitar, keys), Ben Trokan (bass, keys) – met the high-bar of The Clash with blistering takes on fan favorites like “Don’t Make Me a Target” and new material from their latest album, Lucifer on the Sofa. “My Mathematical Mind” was a mid-set stand-out that felt like a show-closer as Daniel dropped to his knees clutching his guitar among a flurry of rhythms and riffs.
An innovative organ intro by Fischel led into an in-your-face take on “The Underdog” while the menacing “The Beast and Dragon, Adored” was overflowing with manic guitars. Eno took a quick drum solo highlighting “I Turn My Camera On” as Trokan held down the bass line of the Gimme Fiction hit.
Spoon performs at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on April 19, 2022.
Spoon closed out their set with the punchy “Got Nuffin,” but that wasn’t even close to the end of the show. The band returned to the stage for not one, but two encores that included “Black Like Me” and “Lucifer on the Sofa” among other songs. After playing “The Fitted Shirt,” Daniel reminisced about the band’s early days of touring calling out how Chicago fans really embraced the band during a past performance at the Empty Bottle as well as a two-night run at the Abbey Pub.
Earlier in the night, singer-songwriter, Margaret Glaspy opened the show with a short set accompanied by her “pretty bad ass band” comprised of Chris Morrissey (bass) and Tim Kuhl (drums). The trio delighted the crowd with songs like “You and I” and “Vicious.” Her final song garnered the biggest crowd response of the set as she sang of consent, respect and the right to choose during the bluesy new number, “My Body My Choice.”
Margaret Glaspy performs at the Riviera Theatre in Chicago on April 19, 2022.
All night long, the liberating feeling of getting lost in music was contagious throughout the four walls of The Riv. It was a sensation of connection, contentment and fun. This type of feelin’ don’t come cheap and once it works its way into your soul, you know it could only come from rock and roll compliments of the great American rock band, Spoon.
Check out photos from Spoon’s Chicago stop below and click here to pick-up tickets to future tour dates. More information can be found at Spoontheband.com.
(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)
