Hot Thoughts to Ease the Pain

The night belonged to Austin band Spoon on Thursday when they took the stage at Santa Barbara’s Arlington Theatre. It was the long-awaited show the cult following had been looking forward to and just what the hard-beaten Santa Barbara community needed to take their minds off the misery they’d been through during the past two months.

From the moment the indie outfit took to the stage, they had immediate control of the crowd. It began with an extended one-note intro that erupted in to their danceable ditty “Do I Have to Talk to You.” They then carried through the set with other favorites like “Can I Sit Next to You” and “I Turn My Camera On” as the gathering audience danced on.

Spoon puts on a show that focuses on the music more than the stage performance and Thursday’s show proved to be just that. Each member made melody on their own piece of the stage, focused solely on their own instrument, while front man Britt Daniels acted as the conduit to the audience that hung on his every word and gesture.

That’s not to say the stage show was dull by any means. The lights were the main part of the set, mesmerizing throughout the show and taking center stage when only the keyboardist was left on stage to give the crowd a 15-minute electronic solo. It was from that point The Arlington was brought from just a song-to-song quintessential rock show, to a fluid jam session. Fans made their way front and center of the theatre to get a better and closer look.

The night closed out with a three-song encore, including the top hit from their newest album, “Hot Thoughts.” The opening band, White Reaper, joined back on-stage to bring in the end of the show.

Just the right amount of jam to bring Santa Barbara out of the devastation funk, even if only for a couple hours.