SXSW 2010: Spoon, Live In Concert

Spoon's headlining set at our SXSW showcase was as crisp and carefully orchestrated as the band's live albums. With an introduction by Austin-based poet Thax Douglas, the band tore through old favorites, as well as new hits from Transference. Rarely breaking form, they gave a generous encore that dug a little deeper into their archives.

Spoon is a patient band. In the 17 years since it formed in Austin, Texas, the group has won over fans with a steady stream of albums and EPs and a workmanlike approach to touring. After two different label contracts failed to pan out in the '90s, Spoon persisted, eventually catching the public's attention with a third label at the beginning of the next decade. The long road has allowed the band to appreciate its success, while cultivating a following that's never been larger.

With the debut of its seventh album, Transference — which hit No. 4 on the Billboard Top 200 — Spoon has finally found full-blown rock stardom. The group's first album made without the help of an outside producer, Transference finds Spoon at its most direct, with an appropriately raw sound throughout. In a recent interview with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen, Spoon members Britt Daniel and Jim Eno described the sounds they pursued during the recording process as "uglier" than their previous work — some of the songs were taken directly from tape recordings the band made in rehearsal.