Extravaganza

To follow up on some of the comments from Doug's last post, it struck me that the reason Springsteen and other older rock types are performing with Arcade Fire is that they have no other outlet for their music. It isn't so much they they share an aristocratic bent (though I bet that helps), as it is that radio won't play the new stuff. So if Springsteen wants to convince people to buy his albums, he has to get his mug in front of people's eyes somehow. Jumping on stage with indie darlings is a fairly effective way to do that. The alternative is to go on teevee and hawk Cadillacs like that paragon of artistic integrity, Dylan.

I went to see Spoon with The New Pornographers last night and the one word review is: meh. A longer review would have to mention that The New Pornographers enjoyed the presence of one Neko Case and had she not been there I might have gotten in a good nap. Case's vocals are very fine, but not enough to outweigh the bland pop behind them. I don't mean to say that any of the Pornographers' songs were bad, just that none of them were great. Or even, you know, better than average. They did, however, have a fancy sign made of individual bulbs, which was like something straight out of the Elvis 68 Comeback show.*

Spoon were a little better. They have finally figured out how to play to a larger audience. The previous couple times I had seen them, which mind you were at festivals, they shambled through a set that seemed devoid of energy. I watched as eager fans actually worked to appreciate them, but finally lost interest because the show was so lacking. Last night Spoon had enough presence to fill the larger stage. They also brought along a subtle light show that had them playing in front of a brilliantly glowing background, while they were mostly in shadow. It was dramatic, yet tasteful. It might sound like they are ready for the arenas, but they aren't totally pro. Britt flubbed some lyrics at a couple points and gushed that the horn section (an extravagance for any tour) had played with Prince. And when Dan Bejar, from The New Pornographers, came out to sing his "It's Gonna Take an Airplane" with them, Britt asked the audience to video it and put it on YouTube.** As good as they've gotten, I still miss the solid bass playing and harmonies of their old bass player, Josh.

*Elvis also did that song with the Devil.

**There was a guy just in front of me who did record the song, but it hasn't turned up on YouTube yet. Though here is a different performance of it.