One thing’s for certain. Nashville’s Cannery Row venues were made for bands like Spoon and The Ponys. The latter and lesser-known of the two rocked off of a buzzed crowd’s energetic chatter before Spoon took the stage and lessened elbow room from front to bar. A few enthusiasts loitered in the back; most others head-jammed cramped and off-kilter to the Austin, Texas natives’ indie/punk/funk rhythms. Not to suggest Spoon can’t cut it at a commercial arena-(they can)-but there’s something about tighter corners and small-scale “sold-outs” that grabs their obscure reputation and eccentric rock by the essence…at least from a listener’s perspective. They clamored on stage with “My Little Japanese Cigarette Case,” a track off latest album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Clearly, repetition is for lovers-“Cigarette Case” only has three lines-and it works. Especially amidst various shades of slideshow-style lighting. “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb” garnered an appreciative audience cheer, as did “I Turn My Camera On” and “Me and the Bean.” The Ponys returned for a lengthy dual-encore, bringing the night full-circle and giving the guy behind me plenty of time to finish the joint he lit somewhere between “The Underdog” and “Everything Hits at Once.” Well done.
