Spoon at Kings Theatre (June 16, 2015)

Back in mid June Spoon made their return to New York for a sold out performance at Kings Theatre, the best large venue in New York City. The performance was one of their few remaining stops of the They Want My Soul tour, and featured an opening set from Brooklyn natives The Antlers.

Although The Antlers are more accustomed to playing more intimate venues, they were actually a pretty perfect fit to play at Kings. Their spacious and haunting sound filled out the place no problem. The tracks off their 2014 album Familiars never sounded better.

The last two times Spoon played in New York, the shows took place outside (Governors Ball and Summerstage, although there was the surprise show at LPR). Frontman Britt Daniel made note of this during the show, and wasn’t shy to slight the less than satisfactory sound at Central Park that night (the talkative crowd didn’t help either).

This show was the complete opposite of Central Park. The sold out crowd was in a trance like state for the entirety of Spoon’s impressive set, which was easily the best performance out of the half a dozen or so times I’ve seen them live now. Not only did they fill out Kings, but they made it look easy. They confidently tore through tracks off They Want My Soul with a simple but effective stage set up and light show accommodating the theme of each offering.

The expansive 23-song set lists featured not just one, but two encores, allowing Spoon to truly give the fans what they wanted. It was as close to a perfect setlist as any Spoon fan could ask for. The final encore of “Black Like Me,” ” You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” and “The Underdog” sent everyone home in a blissful state.

When I look back on all the shows I saw this year, this one will surely rank amongst the best.

Find photos of both Spoon and The Antlers below, along with Spoon’s setlist.

Setlist:

1. Rent I Pay
2. Knock Knock Knock
3. Don’t You Evah
4. The Way We Get By
5. Small Stakes
6. My Mathematical Mind
7. The Ghost of You Lingers
8. Satellite
9. The Beast and Dragon, Adored
10. I Turn My Camera On
11. Do You
12. The Fitted Shirt
13. I Summon You
14. Rainy Taxi
15. Inside Out
16. Don’t Make Me a Target
17. Got Nuffin

Encore:

18. Outlier
19. Anything You Want
20. TV Set (The Cramps Cover)

Encore 2:

21. Black Like Me
22. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
23. The Underdog

The Antlers: