We’re gobbling up the return of live music by the uh, spoonful next week, when Spoon storms Boston’s House of Blues on Wednesday (April 6). Spoon will be gobbling up the crowd’s energy too… and then likely some legendary Chinatown chow.
Following the release of their tenth studio album Lucifer on the Sofa — and a surprise EP named Wild — the Austin band kicks off their first mega-tour since the pandemic right here on Lansdowne Street, alongside folksy opener Margaret Glaspy.
Ahead of Spoon’s “devilish” return to the road, Vanyaland chatted with keyboardist and guitarist Alex Fischel about the best Boston eats, the band’s time in quarantine, and his smooth transition from Spoon fan to full-time band member in 2013.
Vanyaland: How does it feel to be going back on tour? Is that emotional considering the past two years?
Alex Fischel: Well, we did a couple of shorter runs right before on Omicron happened. And then we did do one show in the summer of… what would it be? Was it this year? It’s all a blur. I think we did a show this past summer, one show. It felt very normal. Then there was a spike right after that. So, it was like an illusion.
But before that show, there was definitely a question of, “what’s this going to be like?” This is the longest I’ve been home for nine years, I feel like. It’s like, “I’ve changed a lot, am I still going to like this? What’s this going to be like?” And as soon as we started, it was like, “Oh, yeah, no, this is great. I love this.” So, yeah, there was trepidation of, “Am I still the person that I was after all of this?” But it worked out.
I know with your new album, something you worked really hard to do is capture your live sound. By the time you came to that conclusion, what year was it?
I mean, that’s another whole other can of worms, because we set out to make this live band record, and we thought we were probably 60 percent done around March 11… what was it, 2020? That was that day that I think someone in the NBA got it [COVID-19], and Tom Hanks got it. And it changed everybody’s kind of view on it. The next day, they canceled South by Southwest. It was just kind of like dominoes from there.
So, we were like, 60 percent done. Then Britt [Daniel] wrote some more songs right after lockdown happened. I think that’s how he kind of kept himself sane, was just writing a ton of music. I think there was 30 or 40 songs that were attempted in some capacity. Eventually, we were all able to meet back up in Austin with proper precaution. There’s one song that we did a little bit more remotely. But yeah, it was a tough situation to go into something thinking, “This is how we want to do it. We’re trying to be together as a group.” And then, all of a sudden, the world shuts down.
How many times did you have to pinch yourself when you started going out and playing shows with Spoon [in 2013]? I would assume you used to be on the other side of the stage, watching.
I remember so vividly, the first show we did together was at a smaller little club in Austin. I think it was pretty unannounced, maybe announced that day. That whole week or two leading up to it, I was just like, “What is this going to be like?” Because we have rehearsed, but it’s different when you’re doing the show. That night is definitely burned into my memory. I mean, now they’re some of my best friends. But for a bit there in the beginning, it was like, “Is this really happening? This is so weird.”
Do you have any particular memories of a favorite Boston or Massachusetts show?
I know that last time we were in Boston, Benny [Trokan] and I had amazing food in Chinatown. We found this little Sichuan place in a basement, and it was so good. We played two shows at that outdoor pavilion. I don’t remember which one it was.
Leader Bank Pavilion?
Yeah. We were playing there. We had some time off, and Benny was kind of newer in the band still at that point. We got to get together and have a nice little Sichuan dinner together on a day off. I’ve had so many good meals in Chinatown in Boston, it’s ridiculous.
SPOON: LUCIFER ON THE SOFA TOUR :: Wednesday, April 6 at House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St. in Boston, MA :: 7 p.m., all ages, $35 to $55 :: Advance tickets :: Facebook event page