October 9 2013– The 80′s were a peculiar time for those that lived through them (and were old enough to remember that bygone era). Fashion was the loudest and boldest it had ever been and popular music was represented by a sea of synthesizers. The children of the 80′s shunted their parent’s disco and rock for an era of carefree fun and dancing. Canada was fertile ground for so-called new wave bands and those bands found various levels of success. The music of the 80′s was relatively short-lived and defined an era perhaps more so than disco did the 70′s or rockabilly did the 50′s. Tonight was a test for two bands of the 80′s to prove their modern relevance. The headliners were the Spoons and we had a chance to interview frontman Gord Deppe before the show.
Tonight (Friday October 4th) was the Spoons night and the occasion was a CD release party. Not new material but a remastered version of their debut album 1981’s Stick Figure Neighbourhood which was released officially on CD for the first time. Of interest the original album was recorded by a young Daniel Lanois (who produced some of the biggest albums ever with U2, Stevie Nicks and Neil Young).
The Mod Club was the venue and there was a definite high energy buzz in the building. Images In Vogue (IIV) opened up for the Spoons and we took a look at the IIV set in this separate article which you can read here.
These days the Spoons are down to 2 of their original members and their lineup looks like:
- Gordon Deppe – Vocals & guitar
- Sandy Horne – Bass & vocals
- Casey MQ – Keyboards
- Chris McNeill – Drums
Deppe and Horne were in fine form and both looking fantastic. The smiles on their faces all night really made an exclamation point on how much fun they were having on stage. This was my first time seeing the band and I had no idea how incredibly talented they are. Deppe has got a killer voice and can nail down some slick guitar chords that border on classic rock infusion at times. Horne – holy crap can this woman play bass, she manipulated the oversized instrument with ease and comfort and nailed her bass solo at the end of the show.
The show started strong with Arias & Symphonies which you can see below:
Needless to say some of the loudest crowd reaction was reserved for arguably the band’s biggest hit which of course is Nova Heart (you can watch it here) that closed out the main set. As if that wasn’t enough the band played a remix new version of the song to finish off the encore (playing a variation of the song 2 times), check out the “new” Nova Heart video here.
Tonight as we mentioned was the release of the remastered Stick Figure Neighbourhood CD and the setlist was very heavy on songs from that album – songs that were probably not played live for over 30 years (if ever)! Really exciting for the hardcore fans of the band.
One thing that was evident in the audience tonight was that it was ram packed with hardcore fans – at a much higher ratio than any other concert we have seen. Everyone there seemed to know somebody in the band, or have stories about seeing them in high school or some tale of the 80’s involving the band. This was a great vibe to be a part of.
Verdict: A thoroughly enjoyable ride through the 80’s but certainly not a show that sounded dated. I was not into new wave in the 80’s I was pure hair metal – but the musical ability of Deppe and Horne really blew me away tonight and I had a blast discovering music that was ripe with harmony, emotion and even riff-fueled at times. The clothes and hair of the 80’s were not to be found on stage, but man did the Spoons take my memory back to that interesting time period. Excellent show and we would never hesitate to watch the Spoons in the future – (also really looking forward to their new music that Deppe mentioned he might be writing!)
We leave you with some images from the night.
Nice review. I was there and I had a great time. They’re such a great band! I just wish they could tour across the country and played more shows, particularly in eastern Ontario…