Review: In Tampa, Spoon and Tennis put on a clinic in rock perfection for the Ritz Ybor

There was a point during Spoon’s Monday night set, right before the band launched into “Don’t You Evah,” where frontman Britt Daniel asked a room full fans if they were still with him.

How could they not be?

Tennis — fronted by short-lived Bay area resident Alaina Moore and her husband Patrick Riley — had spent it’s opening set leaning heavily on an excellent new LP, Yours Conditionally. Moore’s vocal — dreamy on every one of the band’s four albums — was sturdier and even more sultry live. Her demeanor behind the keys made her come off as kind of a modern day Stevie Nicks, and her get up (pink-striped gaucho slacks, deep black V-neck and tight blond curls from 70s heaven) only served to further cement the idea that Tennis’ retro-pop is actually the best thing to happen in modern music lately.

Read: Tennis’ Alaina Moore talks isolation, St. Pete, marriage, tacos and more before Ybor City show

All that was before Daniel — now an elder statesmen of rock — spent his first hour onstage working fans into a frenzy alongside longtime bandmates Jim Eno and Rob Pope. Now, standing there flanked by two newer members (Alex Fischel and Gerardo Larios), the 46-year-old, lanky Texan with a luscious voice stood triumphant and in complete control.

Playlist: Stream / download every song Spoon and Tennis played at The Ritz Ybor on Monday night

The boys had just completed a run at “Don’t You Go” from 2002’s Kill The Moonlight, and things would only get better as Pope and Eno meshed perfectly on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga fan favorite “The Underdog” (nice cymbal clasp, Rob) before seamlessly transitioning into They Want My Soul’s “Rainy Taxi” to close out the set. 

A take on Hot Thoughts track “Can I Sit Next To You” would open a three-song encore, and it was yet another chance for Fischel to make an incredible noise with his moaning synth melting into Daniel’s almost primal scream. Fischel actually delivered several awe-inspiring moments during the evening. One in particular — an extended intro for a steamy take on “I Ain’t The One” — makes you think that Daniel and Eno are kicking themselves for not finding him sooner in the band’s history (Eno has called Fischel a “monster” that brings “raw energy” to Spoon’s live set). Fischel did it over and again with waves of synth on “Inside Out,” mechanized strumming on “Rent I Pay” and tumbling keys on Girls Can Tell rocker “Anything You Want.”

Read: Spoon’s Jim Eno shares Hot Thoughts before May 1 show at The Ritz Ybor

All of it — along with an unshakeable foundation provided by Pope on bass, Larios on keys and and the beautifully-mechanical, innovative drumming from Eno — served to give Daniel room to strut, spit and enunciate lyrics from Spoon’s ridiculously good 20-year-old catalog with an open-mouthed fire that should put him in the running for one of the best living frontmen in rock and roll.

In fact, it would be hard to find a hole in the 19-song, 90 minute set the guys put together on Monday. Purists will lament the exclusion of anything from the band’s first two albums (Telephono and A Series of Sneaks, released in ‘98 and ‘98 respectively), but how far back do you really want to look when one of the greatest live bands in rock is standing in front of you?

Spoon is the band everyone wishes they were in. Its commitment to finding new elements of itself on record translates directly into a live set where sound comes alive at the hands of mortal men chasing ideals they may never get to wrap their hands around.

“The A/C on our bus broke down,” Daniel told the crowd before playing “The Beast and Dragon, Adored” from 2005’s Gimme Fiction. “It’s alright though because seeing 1,300 people in a room in Tampa on a Monday night is amazing.”

Amazing? That was perfect, and we may never be able to live that show down anytime soon.

Spoon Setlist

Hot Thoughts
Inside Out
Do I Have To Talk You Into It
First Caress
Rent I Pay
I Turn My Camera On
Do You
Don’t Make Me A Target
The Beast and Dragon, Adored
I Saw The Light
I Ain’t The One
Anything You Want
Stay Don’t Go
Don’t You Evah
The Underdog
Rainy Taxi
—
Can I Sit Next To You
Small Stakes
My Mathematical Mind

Tennis Setlist

In the Morning I’ll Be Better
Never Work For Free
Fields Of Blue
[Unknown]
Ladies Don’t Play Guitar
My Emotions Are Blinding
[Unknown]
[Unknown]
Mean Streets
Modern Woman