Spoon-ful of love for First Ave 40th

They have their purely indie success stories in common. They've operated with surprisingly few frills and outlasted trendier competitors over the years. They've been messed with by the corporate music business and didn't fold.

They even both dressed all in black Saturday.

Aside from one of the dozens of local bands that can sell out the place, First Avenue could not have wound up with a much more fitting group to mark its 40th birthday than Spoon.

The cultishly popular and jaggedly explosive quartet from Austin, Texas, played its second of two sold-out shows Saturday, 40 years to the day after Joe Cocker opened up Minneapolis' landmark rock club. For both band and venue, it was pretty clear things have never been better.

Spoon has always been a subtle rock act that does a lot with a little, going back to when it was still a trio and frontman Britt Daniel still only played a distorted acoustic guitar.

With Jamie Levinson of White Rabbits added as a second percussionist for its new tour behind album No. 7 "Transference," the band has grown to a five-piece -- or maybe just 4 1/2, since Levinson played on less than half of the songs. Either way, Spoon's minimalist formula remains intact and utterly enticing.

A majority of the 23 songs in its 95-minute set Saturday built around rather simple but infectious rhythmic hooks. They start with drummer Jim Eno's choppy but steady patterns and extend to Daniel's snarling, sometimes stuttering vocals and keyboardist Eric Harvey's plunky parts.

"I Turn My Camera On" and the oldie "Jonathan Fisk" -- the second and third songs of the night, respectively -- were among the most repetitive and yet rapturous of the night. Encore highlights "I Got Yr. Cherry Bomb" and "Utilitarian" came off with a similar, steady bounce. Even "The Ghost of You Lingers" maintained a monotone, pulsating charm despite having no guitar and only waves of drums.

For contrast, the tempos came to a halt here and there, usually perfectly timed to pace the show. Early on, the band threw in an eerie cover of the Damned's "Love Song" to coolly bring things down. Its own moody gem, "Mathematical Mind," was stretched out into a hypnotic jam. Conversely, the new single "Written in Reverse" ended the pre-encore set by forcefully turning up the pace, some of the most brawny yet brilliant rock of Spoon's 15-year run.

Daniel started the first of two encores by paying his respects to First Ave, calling it "one of the greatest rock clubs in the country." Of course, he and many other indie-rock vets say that even when it's not an anniversary.

So maybe the most special thing about Saturday's Spoon gig was that it was just another great night at the Avenue.

See Spoon's full set list and the mayor's "First Avenue Day" proclamation at startribune.com/artcetera.

chrisr@startribune.com • 612-673-4658