Michael Hann

Why aren’t Spoon filling stadiums?

Plus: the Arctic Monkeys left me completely cold

Spoon's guitarists, Britt Daniel and Gerardo Larios, at Islington Assembly Hall. Credit: James Berry / Avalon 
issue 01 July 2023

Here’s a mystery for you. Why were Spoon, one of the most dynamic, sharpest rock bands in the world, playing a single night in a north London town hall (capacity 890) while Arctic Monkeys were playing three nights at Arsenal’s ground (capacity 59,000) as part of a UK tour that encompassed eight other stadiums in the UK, plus one arena, one park and Glastonbury? It’s not that Arctic Monkeys aren’t good – no one gets that kind of critical unanimity without being good.

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