Rhythm & Soul.
Little Radio. Early fall. Downtown Los Angeles. A Monday I believe. The show has come to a close and the free Dewar's is running on E. The only people left behind are those of us who are unemployed, folks looking for a good time, and those straggling about denying the fact that yes, it is a Monday, and the working week is far from over; in fact, it's just begun. I blame Britt Daniel and Co., who just put on one of the best shows 18 dollars can buy. They got this hootenanny started, and had the place jumpin' jumpin'. Why would we want to leave? I didn't. I got lost in thought and conversation, busy people watching, catching up with old cronies, and scoring more Dewar's. [For free!] Stuck in this moment I studiously glanced about the crowd, and that's when I saw him standing in the middle of the now empty with litter strewn about it dancefloor looking around like a lost kid in a shopping mall, and sticking out like Conan O'Brien, all height and limbs, Britt Daniel. OhmyGod! OhmyGod! OhmyGod! No one else see this? At that moment I knew that I wanted to walk up to him and say something, anything rather, but I didn't. Why? Cause all I had was this:
TAUWAN: [taps B.D. on the elbow] Excuse me.
BRITT: [Turns to acknowledge me. Smiles. (I hoped)]
TAUWAN: [Smiles back] Uh. Hey. Great show man. As always. I just wanted to, uh, say thank you.
BRITT: Oh, no problem man...
TAUWAN:...[still smiling]...Yeah, so, uh, have a goodnight!...
Aren't you glad I kept my distance and let Mr. Daniel disappear into the backstage ether?
But how badly did I want to let Britt know that he and his bandmates are loved, and that they should be thanked for just making real, genuine, straight laced rock and roll infused with passion, rhythm, and soul [Yeah, I wanted to be THAT fan]. I have been a Spoon fan since Kill the Moonlight, and with each album and performance thereafter Spoon have upheld that unwritten and unspoken pact artists hold with their fans, that with each release and live show, [no matter how big or small] you will be handsomely rewarded for all your troubles; for sticking it out with us, and being a fan. And like Kill the Moonlight and Gimme Fiction before it, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga does just that. There's no bombast, no outlandish flights of musical fancy or moves to tickle your funny bone. Just four guys from Austin with a few guitars, a horn section, and fiery tinkering of the keys all coming together to evoke a movement, a feeling, steeped in reality, so drenched in soul that you just can't help but sit back, re-secure your headphones, and let these 10 compositions "take care of you tonight." The beauty's in the clarity and its simplicity, something many artists can't seem to find or get right, and THAT is why the fellas in Spoon are special, and why they need to be thanked.
KEY TRACKS: The Ghost Of You Lingers/You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb/Black Like Me
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