In the moments before The Spinto Band took the stage at Union Hall last week, I was contemplating why indie-band residencies have avoided becoming a dreaded rock cliché. The six lads who make up the band, playing the first of four consecutive Thursday-night gigs at the Park Slope venue, were obviously unconcerned with such a question; and by the end of the first song, as the Spintos joyously augmented their jaunty, melody-infused rock with mop top–style, head-bopping vocal harmony on “Summer Grof,” the idea had ceased to matter. “I thought there was no thinking involved,” they sang, bouncing around the instrument-and-body-cluttered stage with frantic abandon.
Residencies, for a group like The Spinto Band, offer an opportunity to both bring in casually interested listeners and, ideally, lure back a good crop of their small-but-devoted fan base back week after week. Some of an extended run’s freshness must result from such a mix of simply curious show-goers (admission is, after all, but the modest price of a cocktail) as well as die-hard devotees repeatedly coming together for some weeknight fun.
Of course, in Spinto’s case, the truest commitment is from the group itself. The sextet hails from Wilmington, Del., and will be making the over-120-mile drive to New York and back to “that curve of Delaware bordering Pennsylvania” (as singer/guitarist Nick Krill explained to me after their headlining set had concluded) every week for their allotted Brooklyn slot. That’s at least a 12-hour day, which makes me pretty sure The Spinto Band loves this gig.
Or at least they love to play. The band took the first night of the stint to reveal some of that residency-spirited fun. Doing one better than simply knocking out a cover, the Spintos rocked a ludicrously tight one-minute “Genius Of Love” instrumental, using the Tom Tom Club nod as an intro for their own kazoo-and-keyboard jam “Brown Boxes,” a smile-provoking tale of breaking up and moving out. “It’s pretty stupid,” sings Hughes of a cupid he finds, “but nonetheless I’ll pack it.”
Better than simply springboarding into their own compositions from instantly recognizable pop vantage points, the boys also managed a daunting, live band mash-up. Starting with a clap-along rendition of largely forgotten ’70s soul hit “Give Me Just A Little More Time,” the Spintos then seamlessly inserted verses from Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” and backing vocals from Gwen Stefani's “The Sweet Escape,” piling layers of inter-generational fare into a pastiche more ingenious than mere medley.
The Spinto Band also took the opportunity to showcase both back catalog and soon-to-be-released songs of its own. The band treated us to the spirited “Later On,” an uptempo, falsetto-chorused track, complete with plunky piano solo, from their due-in-October sophomore LP Moonwink; but things peaked at Union Hall last week with “Oh Mandy,” from 2005’s Nice And Nicely Done. The song’s title is a cute little nod to the songs exuberant use of mandolin, but the tune itself, with its repeated calls out to the mysterious Mandy, feels like impassioned plea and generous release all at once. When the Spinto fellows unleashed it, the crowd reacted with ample fervor, the band, in turn, ratcheted it up for the unhinged bridge. “I know I’m at the end of my wits,” Krill belted out, the audience teetering on the edge there with him.
The fact is, bands that play residencies really want what the experience provides and are willing to return and play again and again. Touring can be tedious, but an avowed decision to come repeatedly to the same room, to stake the same claim, can liberate the musician whose will is strong enough. Krill and bassist Thomas Hughes, along with guitarists Jon Eaton and Joe Hobson, keyboardist Sam Hughes and drummer Jeff Hobson, not only buoy each other but also could subsist on the crowd’s voltage alone.
When I jokingly ask how he feels about coming back, Hughes says, “Next week will be one helluva show.” He’s trying to be funny, but he’s very likely telling the truth.
The Spinto Band plays July 24, July 31, August 7 at Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.), Brooklyn, 718.638.4400; 7:30, $10.
Greg Burgett resides at songsaboutknives.com
Residencies, for a group like The Spinto Band, offer an opportunity to both bring in casually interested listeners and, ideally, lure back a good crop of their small-but-devoted fan base back week after week. Some of an extended run’s freshness must result from such a mix of simply curious show-goers (admission is, after all, but the modest price of a cocktail) as well as die-hard devotees repeatedly coming together for some weeknight fun.
Of course, in Spinto’s case, the truest commitment is from the group itself. The sextet hails from Wilmington, Del., and will be making the over-120-mile drive to New York and back to “that curve of Delaware bordering Pennsylvania” (as singer/guitarist Nick Krill explained to me after their headlining set had concluded) every week for their allotted Brooklyn slot. That’s at least a 12-hour day, which makes me pretty sure The Spinto Band loves this gig.
Or at least they love to play. The band took the first night of the stint to reveal some of that residency-spirited fun. Doing one better than simply knocking out a cover, the Spintos rocked a ludicrously tight one-minute “Genius Of Love” instrumental, using the Tom Tom Club nod as an intro for their own kazoo-and-keyboard jam “Brown Boxes,” a smile-provoking tale of breaking up and moving out. “It’s pretty stupid,” sings Hughes of a cupid he finds, “but nonetheless I’ll pack it.”
Better than simply springboarding into their own compositions from instantly recognizable pop vantage points, the boys also managed a daunting, live band mash-up. Starting with a clap-along rendition of largely forgotten ’70s soul hit “Give Me Just A Little More Time,” the Spintos then seamlessly inserted verses from Thin Lizzy’s “The Boys Are Back In Town” and backing vocals from Gwen Stefani's “The Sweet Escape,” piling layers of inter-generational fare into a pastiche more ingenious than mere medley.
The Spinto Band also took the opportunity to showcase both back catalog and soon-to-be-released songs of its own. The band treated us to the spirited “Later On,” an uptempo, falsetto-chorused track, complete with plunky piano solo, from their due-in-October sophomore LP Moonwink; but things peaked at Union Hall last week with “Oh Mandy,” from 2005’s Nice And Nicely Done. The song’s title is a cute little nod to the songs exuberant use of mandolin, but the tune itself, with its repeated calls out to the mysterious Mandy, feels like impassioned plea and generous release all at once. When the Spinto fellows unleashed it, the crowd reacted with ample fervor, the band, in turn, ratcheted it up for the unhinged bridge. “I know I’m at the end of my wits,” Krill belted out, the audience teetering on the edge there with him.
The fact is, bands that play residencies really want what the experience provides and are willing to return and play again and again. Touring can be tedious, but an avowed decision to come repeatedly to the same room, to stake the same claim, can liberate the musician whose will is strong enough. Krill and bassist Thomas Hughes, along with guitarists Jon Eaton and Joe Hobson, keyboardist Sam Hughes and drummer Jeff Hobson, not only buoy each other but also could subsist on the crowd’s voltage alone.
When I jokingly ask how he feels about coming back, Hughes says, “Next week will be one helluva show.” He’s trying to be funny, but he’s very likely telling the truth.
The Spinto Band plays July 24, July 31, August 7 at Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.), Brooklyn, 718.638.4400; 7:30, $10.
Greg Burgett resides at songsaboutknives.com
