Spoon @ One Eyed Jacks (New Orleans, LA) 10/27/07

The concept of an “open-bar” was a completely alien concept to me, especially on my very first outing to New Orleans. Hell, I’m still baffled by the legality of open containers. No last call?? What is this, Mars? Needless to say, being in a strange land such as the French Quarter began taking it’s toll on my old withered frame and liver. To be honest I really didn’t know if I could make it to One Eyed Jacks on Toulouse Street to see Spoon’s invite-only show which was set to begin at 1:30am (!!!), but I had to soldier on. I’ve missed too many opportunities to see them, and so what if I shaved 12 years off of my life span in the scope of a day?

(Review continues along with video, audio, and setlist after the jump!)

Verily, I say unto thee: I love One Eyed Jacks. This place has an old-world aesthetic that resembles a Parisian whorehouse blessed by the grace of God Almighty, by way of the aforementioned open bar. Admission consisted of a $20 “donation” to New Orleans Musicians Relief Fund. It took a while to get past my disbelief of winning the booze lottery (”Wait. Wait. I can have ANYTHING I want? For Free??”), but when I did, I caught my second wind and the band arrived on stage promptly at 1:30am. I was surprised by the casual politeness of the crowd. No pushing, shoving, plenty of elbow-room, and we were approximately 10 feet from the stage. Heck, the vibe was so casual, the guy next to me lit up a doobie with arrogant swagger. That’s bold.

Britt Daniel and crew opened their show with “Mountain to Sound’ from their Soft Effects EP, and it sounded great. They followed that up with “The Ghost of You Lingers”, which, I hate to say is my least favorite track off of their latest album Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga ( Yeah, Britt, that title gets cooler every time I say or type it. Thanks.) They definitely made up for it playing “The Beast and Dragon, Adored”, however. As late as the show started, I wasn’t surprised by the brevity of their set, but I was definitely disappointed by the lack of songs from their Girls Can Tell album (one of my personal “desert island” CD’s). Britt Daniel, would it have killed you to have played “I Turn My Camera On”? It’s only the greatest struttin’ song ever written. Ever. I suppose free booze and a perfect venue will give anyone a warped sense of entitlement, but I wanted more. It should be noted that they did play a full set earlier that day as part of the Voodoo Fest that was going on that weekend, so I have to cut them a little slack. I’m just spoiled, I guess.

MP3:
Spoon - “Mountain to Sound”

VIDEOS:
Spoon - “Mountain to Sound” Live @ One Eyed Jacks

Spoon - “Take a Walk” Live @ One Eyed Jacks

SETLIST:

PHOTOS: