Spoon (Dave Matthews Band song)
Encyclopedia
"Spoon" is a Dave Matthews Band
song from the album Before These Crowded Streets
. The song is thought to describe the thoughts of Christ
as he is pinned to the crucifix
. Throughout the song, Christ contemplates such ideas as whether the human race is worth "saving" and whether his father is God
, as he ponders his own existence. Dave Matthews
used Peter Gabriel
's song "The Passion" as an inspiration for this song.
The song features Alanis Morissette
on background vocals and Béla Fleck
on the banjo
. A 1:30 reprise to "The Last Stop
" is featured as a hidden track following a minute of silence after the song.
"Spoon" has been performed live as early as 1997, where it was played acoustically
as a solo by Dave Matthews, or an acoustic duet with Tim Reynolds
. The song debuted live by the band in the summer of 1998; however, drummer Carter Beauford
did not perform as he was bothered by a large amount of cricket
s crawling around the stage. The song was only played two more times that year by the band, and then a handful of times more the following year during acoustic shows by Matthews and Reynolds.
Since then, the song was not played until late 2003, where it was performed only ten times, lastly on September 14. A live performance from 2003 was featured on the pre-order disc for The Central Park Concert.
1791 days after being last played, Spoon returned on August 9, 2008. The show would later be released as Live Trax Vol. 15
on June 2, 2009. It was played again on September 10 at the Stand Up for a Cure concert at Madison Square Garden
in New York City
. Ingrid Michaelson
, who played as the opening act, guested with the band.
Dave Matthews Band
Dave Matthews Band, sometimes shortened to DMB, is a U.S. rock band formed in Charlottesville, Virginia in 1991. The founding members were singer-songwriter and guitarist Dave Matthews, bassist Stefan Lessard, drummer/backing vocalist Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Boyd Tinsley was...
song from the album Before These Crowded Streets
Before These Crowded Streets
Before These Crowded Streets is the third studio album by Dave Matthews Band, released on April 28, 1998. It is the last official album by the group to be produced by longtime producer Steve Lillywhite and their first album recorded at The Plant Recording Studios in Sausalito, California...
. The song is thought to describe the thoughts of Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
as he is pinned to the crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
. Throughout the song, Christ contemplates such ideas as whether the human race is worth "saving" and whether his father is God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, as he ponders his own existence. Dave Matthews
Dave Matthews
David John "Dave" Matthews is a South African–born American musician and occasional actor, best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist for the Dave Matthews Band...
used Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
's song "The Passion" as an inspiration for this song.
The song features Alanis Morissette
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, record producer, and actress. She has won 16 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards, was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and also shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination...
on background vocals and Béla Fleck
Béla Fleck
Béla Anton Leoš Fleck is an American banjo player. Widely acknowledged as one of the world's most innovative and technically proficient banjo players, he is best known for his work with the bands New Grass Revival and Béla Fleck and the Flecktones.-Early life and career details:Fleck was born in...
on the banjo
Banjo
In the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
. A 1:30 reprise to "The Last Stop
The Last Stop
"The Last Stop" is a song by Dave Matthews Band and the third track from their 1998 album, Before These Crowded Streets. The previous track, "Rapunzel," segues into a cilp of saxophonist LeRoi Moore answering his cell phone, which in turn leads directly into the song.The song stands out with its...
" is featured as a hidden track following a minute of silence after the song.
"Spoon" has been performed live as early as 1997, where it was played acoustically
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
as a solo by Dave Matthews, or an acoustic duet with Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds
Tim Reynolds is a Grammy nominated multi-instrumentalist known as both a solo artist and as the lead guitarist for Dave Matthews Band...
. The song debuted live by the band in the summer of 1998; however, drummer Carter Beauford
Carter Beauford
Carter Anthony Beauford is an American drummer, percussionist, and founding member of Dave Matthews Band. He is known for his ability to adapt to a variety of genres, and both his ambidextrous and his open hand drumming styles. He plays the drums and sings backing vocals in the band...
did not perform as he was bothered by a large amount of cricket
Cricket (insect)
Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
s crawling around the stage. The song was only played two more times that year by the band, and then a handful of times more the following year during acoustic shows by Matthews and Reynolds.
Since then, the song was not played until late 2003, where it was performed only ten times, lastly on September 14. A live performance from 2003 was featured on the pre-order disc for The Central Park Concert.
1791 days after being last played, Spoon returned on August 9, 2008. The show would later be released as Live Trax Vol. 15
Live Trax Vol. 15
Live Trax Vol. 15 is a live album by Dave Matthews Band, and is the 15th volume in the band's Live Trax series. The album was recorded on August 9, 2008 at Alpine Valley Music Theater in East Troy, Wisconsin....
on June 2, 2009. It was played again on September 10 at the Stand Up for a Cure concert at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
, who played as the opening act, guested with the band.