Postponed concert lands Spoon back at 'sacred place' First Ave on short notice

After the typical waiting period for postponed concerts during the pandemic became two years, Twin Cities fans could thank their lucky stars Spoon only took three days.

Even better, the enduring Texas indie-rock band seemed extra thankful to have its own new star on the wall of the venue where its show wound up getting got moved to Sunday night.

A quick recap: Spoon had to call off opening night of a two-night stand at St. Paul's Palace Theatre on Thursday, after ailing frontman Britt Daniel struggled to sing his way through soundcheck. Friday's sold-out Palace show went on as planned, though. Then on Saturday, the band had to trek to a gig in Milwaukee.

When Sunday came, Spoon — as well as its well-paired opener Margaret Glaspy — retreated back across Wisconsin and into Minneapolis to make up the Thursday show at First Avenue instead of the Palace. Lesser ticket demand for the weeknight gig allowed for the move, as did a scheduled day off on the tour.

What a difference three days and one old, familiar rock club can make, apparently.

Daniel looked and sounded healed up on Sunday night, although he did ease into the 1¾-hour performance. The band started out with some of its most timid songs of the night, including ominous opener "I Summon You," the light-pop bobber "The Underdog" and the first of several new songs, "My Babe."

An atmospheric, piano-laden tune with strong traces of Bowie — quite an impressive leap for a band that couldn't escape Pixies comparisons early in its career — "My Babe" was the first big-wow moment of Spoon's set. Another immediately followed as "The Beast and Dragon, Adored" got stretched out into a frayed, tumultuous crescendo á la Wilco's jammiest stuff.

After apologizing to the crowd about Thursday's last-minute cancellation — "I know that wasn't easy," he said — Daniel showed he was truly up and running again.

He and the band quickly banged their way through a handful of older and rockier favorites, including "Small Stakes," "Don't You Evah" and 2001's "Fitted Shirt" (the oldest oldie of the night). Snarly new single "The Hardest Cut" also fit in nicely during that mid-show tear.

As far as the new material went, Sunday's setlist actually could have featured more off Spoon's latest album, "Lucifer on the Sofa," a pandemic-inspired collection about inner demons and the dangers of boredom. But the band did save the best of the new tracks, "Wild," as the centerpiece of its encore.

"And the world, still so wild, called to me / I'd been caught, I was lost on my knees," Daniel sang with dramatic verve while drummer Jim Eno — still the secret sauce in the band — lifted him up through a steadying, strutting groove.

Soaking up the wild applause afterward, the typically aloof frontman got atypically emotional.

"I love this place; it's sacred to me," Daniel said, thanking First Ave staff for giving Spoon its star on the wall outside (arguably long overdue). He also thanked them for accommodating this makeup gig on the fly.

Really, though, Spoon's tour-bus driver may have been the biggest hero of the week.