Austin’s Spoon at Longhorn City Limits

By Harriet Bernard

Music Journalist

It’s the biggest UT Austin home game of the season against the University of Georgia. Crawling through a sea of burnt orange adorned fans with sprinkles of red and black ensembles. While I was not dressed to the nines for my hometown team, I was feeling the team spirit. Right next to the DKR Texas Memorial Stadium was a small stage with people waiting for the show. Austin’s very own Spoon was performing. I had no idea what to expect, as this outing was a spur of the moment event for my family and I this past Saturday. We thought while we aren’t exactly football lovers, why not check out “Longhorn City Limits”; the seasonal music sideshow brought by UT Austin Athletics. 

The Austin based rock band from the 90s and early 2000s put on a fantastic show for young and older fans alike. As time creeped up, more people crowded as we secured a nice, open spot about 15 feet from the stage. I always assumed that Spoon would bring in a crowd that mostly resembled my Gen X parents, and while that was mostly true, I was surprised to see younger fans closer to my age pumped to be there. The boombox stopped and the members of Spoon walked out, waving to the audience. I was ready to hear some classic Austin post-punk live.

 Opening with the track “Wild”, the crowd made lots of noise as lead singer and guitarist, Britt Daniel, uttered the first words. Daniel gave a brief introduction of the band by first mentioning their drummer, Jim Eno, who Daniel had formed the band with in October of 1993. This month marked the band’s 31st anniversary. Daniel also mentioned that he went to UT Austin and was ecstatic to perform right on campus. Most of the songs they performed came from their 2022 album Lucifer on the Sofa. Next came “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” ”The Hardest Cut” and “I Turn My Camera On”. All three had the crowd grooving before Daniel swapped to an acoustic guitar from his electric one. 

From the 2001 album, Girls Can Tell, they played “Anything You Want.” This song is one I can distinguish from my upbringing. It reminds me of the music my dad would play with his bands, as well as when my siblings would sing funny lyrics over his garage band-made beats. A new fave of mine followed, titled “My Babe”. It had a sweeter tune and bittersweet lyrics that provided a nice break, as the clouds finally rolled in and cooled the air. They moved to a synth heavy track, “Inside Out,” from their 2014 album They Want My Soul, that they recently developed a deluxe version of, this year. 

“Don’t You Evah” had the crowd clapping along to the beat. This is when I ignored how uncomfortable I was in my jeans and Doc Martens and just danced to the beat for the rest of the show. Following was “Do You” which made my pop princess heart happy with its xylophone chimes and eager drums. Their most popular song, “The Underdog,” which had me wishing they brought out a trumpet player just for the instrumental refrain. None the less, it was epic. As “The Way We Get By” played, I got that bittersweet feeling when you can tell a show is coming to an end and this song was the perfect transition. Finally the show ended with  “Jonathan Frank” and the band said their thank you and goodbye then walked off stage. 

Spoon put on a great afternoon set that left everyone joyous and encouraged to keep the good energy rolling. There was no encore and none needed. After we trekked back through the remnants of the tailgate, we finished our night with pizza, which was the cherry on top to my first experience seeing Spoon.