I arrived at Warehouse live about an hour before the doors opened (something I very rarely do) to ensure a good spot up front with my friends. Shortly after the doors opened Black Nasty from Austin took the stage. The band was a weird mix of rapping of rock and roll that got slightly funky at times. I wasn’t too impressed with the rhymes of Black Nasty, but the music was top notch. I am always a fan of rappers that use a live band as opposed to a prerecorded track.

After a half hour set, Black Nasty left the stage it was time for Spoon to play to the nearly packed house. It had been over three years since I had seen Spoon live, and I was very eager to hear songs from their latest album, 2007’s “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga”, in a live setting.

From the moment that Britt Daniels walked onto the stage the show was a nonstop, flawless demonstration of superb song writing and topnotch musicianship. Opening with the song “Utilitarian” it was clear that new songs would not be dominating the set, which was perfectly fine with me. Other classics such as “I Turn my Camera On” and “I Summon You” were also mixed into the set list that could not have been any better. At no point during the set did the group play I song I was not excited to hear.

Newer songs such as “Cherry Bomb” and “Don’t You Evah” were welcomed by the crowd with roars. One of my favorite moments during the set was when the group played “The Ghost of You Lingers”. A track on the album I often skip passed was absolutely stellar live. With two keyboards being played Britt picked up a bass half way through the song to fill out the low end.

A couple of new songs were also thrown into the mix, one of which included no bass guitar but instead three guitars being played in unison. If these new tracks are any indication, the next Spoon album is going to be yet another fantastic effort from these guys.

For the encore the group played my personal favorite song of theirs “Anything You Want” which resulted in, myself included, massive dancing and a pogo frenzy. For the final song, the group chose an old but fantastic song from their catalog, “My Mathematical Mind”.

Regardless if you have been a Spoon fan for years or only recently go into them, their live show will leave you with an ear to ear grin on your face, and a desire to see them again. I myself plan to make the drive over to Austin this July to see one of their three shows at Stubb’s.