Front-man Britt Daniel flourished in front of the roaring crowd. He carried himself with a gait and presence that reminded me of Elvis Presley in his prime.

Austin Texas natives Spoon made their triumphant return to Milwaukee on Oct. 8. Having previously played in front of an amazing crowd at this year’s Summerfest, the band came back to the city for the start of their new tour. This time, the venue was the Pabst Theater.

The night opened up with a short set from The Ponys. The Chicago-area band seemed to be very uncomfortable while on stage. Most of the band spent the time facing away from the audience and seemed as if they just wanted to get the set over with. To make matters worse, technical difficulties made the lead singer’s voice nearly inaudible.

One highlight of the opening band was their drummer, who really exhibited a passion for the music they were playing. Sadly, his enthusiasm alone could not save the underwhelming start to the night.

After a longer than usual wait in between bands, the lights turned low and Spoon stepped on stage. Amidst the screams of their fans, they began to play "My Little Japanese Cigarette Case,” one of the strongest songs off of their newest album, “Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga.”

It was immediately evident that the crowd was entirely composed of avid Spoon fans due to the immense cheers at the beginning of every song. It was a refreshing change to be a part of a crowd who knew the band’s entire library, as opposed to only the singles.

The set was filled with songs that contained a variety of different instruments. It’s rare to see maracas and keyboards highlight a live performance, but Spoon pulled it off with great aplomb.

Front-man Britt Daniel flourished in front of the roaring crowd.

He carried himself with a gait and presence that reminded me of Elvis Presley in his prime. With stiff knees and wild hips, he wowed the audience while simultaneously reminding them of a marionette in the hands of a master puppeteer.

The band did a great job of filling the set with a great mix of songs off a variety of albums. It was nice hearing tunes off of 1998’s “A Series of Sneaks.”

The highlight of the night came about halfway through the set, when Britt Daniel switched his electric guitar for an acoustic and began playing “I Summon You” off of 2005’s “Gimme Fiction.” The song itself is one of the most emotional and beautiful of the past few years, and hearing it live was nothing short of divine.

After about 20 songs, the band thanked the audience and called the night. However, every single person in the room knew that an encore was almost moments away.

Sure enough, the band came back on stage, and under a blanket of cheers, immediately began to play “The Underdog.” The big-band single off of their newest album garnered some of the biggest cheers of the night.

Ten minutes and another encore later, the houselights came on and Spoon bid a final farewell to Milwaukee. Kudos to the Pabst Theater for providing a perfect venue to complement the vibe and energy of Spoon.

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