Spoon at Rockefeller Park

After a slight rain delay—though the rain itself was anything but slight—Spoon rocked Rockefeller Park last night with a 50-minute, 14-song, free-show set that thrilled the huge, muddy-footed crowd. I arrived while it was still torrential, and so was able to secure a spot right up front. At around 7:00 the rain stopped, they took the tarps off of the equipment... and then it started pouring again. Things were looking grim. Finally it let it up for good around 7:40 (some sprinkles during the set threatened to shorten the evening, but even though some manager-type guy told them to stop the show, the band refused to get off stage), people kept streaming in from god-knows-where, and the party started for real a little after 8:00.

As usual, Britt Daniel and his Austin bandmates put on a great show: tight, lean, so full of energy and good tunes and good vibes that I couldn't help but smile and dance and sing along through most of it. Below is the (almost) full set list, which included a bunch of songs from their excellent new CD, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga...


1. I don't know. Little help? UPDATE: Eddie's Raga (thanks, anonymous...)
2. Don't Make Me a Target
3. My Mathematical Mind
4. Small Stakes
5. The Underdog
6. Stay Don't Go
7. I Turn My Camera On
8. Black Like Me
9. Rhthm and Soul
10. Chicago at Night
11. Take a Walk
12. You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb
13. Jonathan Fisk
14. I Summon You

The sound isn't the best at Rock Park, and if you're up close you have to stand on a downhill slope, which is a little awkward, but the show was free—part of the River to River Festival—and even with all the rain, it seemed to me that most everyone was having a blast. Well... I certainly was, anyway.