1 year ago to date, my last 2 live concerts fell on the same night, March 7th, 2020, and featured two stellar appearances in the Oshawa area. 1st, The Bowie Lives kept the spirit alive as they celebrated David’s 4-decade deep catalog of hits while engaging a sold-out Regent Theatre of 609 die-hard Bowie fans. I have the pleasure to be on the team that helps The Bowie Lives shows and this magical evening I was a volunteer part of the duo merch team with my partner Kevin. Leaving my boyfriend to man the merch, I clamped on my Canon camera onto my walker and visited another live music hotspot, Oshawa Music Hall right across the street from the Regent. It was jam-packed with 600 patrons out to enjoy the 40th Anniversary of music legends and Canadian iconic gems, The Spoons. They rocked their sold-out show celebrating their 9th studio album, New Day New World, and all their greatest hits throughout their 4-decade career. The very next day, boom, the entire world shut down due to Covid-19 with its deadly global pandemic! Ironicly and sadly we lost the Oshawa Music Hall due to Covid-19 closures and I stiIl haven’t set foot in my doctor’s office, a grocery store, pharmacy, convenience store, mall, a restaurant, bar, post office, a friend’s house, and even skipped holidays with my family, etc. since this all began, thanks to my weakened immune. I have switched up hats at The Wire MEGAzine throughout this crazy new realm, I am now the volunteer Music Editor and Columnist performing interviews virtually versus photographing and reviewing live concerts, at this time, as you know there’s literally no shows. Well, I shouldn’t say there are zero concerts, they are rare and in the form of live streaming to an empty theatre or from their homes, but I am seeing more and more bands making a living with live streaming and that is fantastic!!

The Spoons are honored household names and have come along way in their 41-year career, and their sound is so preserved as if you just stepped into a club in the 1980s or you released the pause button on the stereo. Their sound never ages, it transports you to another dimension, and in times like these, that is a welcome teleport. I was thoroughly captivated as they engaged us with their Spoons flare laced with humor. They intertwined old and new pieces, shared some stories, while fans were encouraged to sing along at home, truly a great motivational inclusion as they shared their vibrant nature making this a very up close and personal showcase, definitely 1 of their most compelling expressions to date. This high-energy duo was separated by a life-sized protective plastic divider that kept each other distanced yet interactive. The stage was drenched in warm hues as they wore their hearts upon their sleeves as they gave us their feel-good signature songs making this a back-to-the-future feel for me, were hit after hit, stood the test of time. Spoons are 1 of the rare few that never stop ceasing to amaze their fans, always evolving as they share their unique new wave synth-pop sound. 1st arrow out of their quiver was Arias and Symphonies from their 2nd album dated back to 1982 which was followed by 1 from their 9th studio album, New Day New World, with the hit Repeatable. “I heard there are people from all over, in Europe, the States tuning in,” Gord Deppe stated. He further shared, “This is kind of the unofficial beginning of the Repeatable Tour which is the name of our new compilation with all the songs throughout the years up to the present day.”

Next, they dug deep into Old Emotions from their 3rd album from1983’s Talkback. This lead us into a Beautiful Trap, once again from their 2019 album New Day New World, and announced that this tune will be made into a part 3 in their video trilogy. What really brought me back in time was seeing their original videos projected behind them on the screen, truly mesmerizing, quite trippy actually, another selling point to the whole teleport yourself feel. It was nice to be revitalized even for just 1 hour. Next, they perfected 1988’s Waterline off their Juno nominated album, Vertigo Tango. Next, they even got to Escape With You. “This is from our 2011 album called Static in Transmission. It’s all we want to do these days, to escape somewhere, well, we’ve escaped as we came to the stage today, that’s very exciting,” stated Sandy Horne. Gord mentioned, “Yes, amazing, all you people have great imaginations, we’ll make up for it 1 day.” They delivered one of my faves and 1 of their most popular singles that was included on the Much Music debut show, that’s right, I am talking about the infectious 1984 Spoons staple, Romantic Traffic from the movie soundtrack, Listen to the City. 1 of Gord’s favorite Spoons songs was up next, 1988’s When Time Turns Around from their 5th album, Vertigo Tango, and these song lyrics ring true, sending a message of hope during these unprecedented times.

“When time turns around. We¹ll do it all over again. One more time. When time turns around. We¹ll take all the chances we missed. The first time around” sounds gooooood to me!!

I was thrilled for the next piece, as it allowed Sandy to share her full vocal talents and it was one I rarely have heard them do live, entitled One in Ten Words. This was a 4-minute splendor from their 1982 Arias and Symphonies album.

There is going to be a 3 part Trilogy and this was the #1 video for it entitled The First & Last Time, (fyi this song was selected for 35 film festivals around the globe winning 10 awards). The 2nd trilogy video was All The Wrong Things (In The Right Place) (fyi this video has already been selected at 15 film festivals and won 6 awards), followed by one song they played earlier, Beautiful Trap. All will be made into a little movie, so stay tuned for news on that adventure, real soon.

I adored their stripped-down and revamped version of their 1986 hit Bridges Over Boards, this was the 1st single from their 4th album which was the 1st album with featured keyboardist Scott MacDonald and drummer Steve Kendry. It was an intimate rendition, showing you their depth, dedication, and how their talent is always evolving. It was one of their most endearing to date and was a bloody brilliant way to turn a classic into a classic all over again.

All The Wrong Things (In The Right Place) was on deck next from their 2019 New Day New World album and they nailed it. They engaged each other through the plexiglass barrier that separated and protected, surely brought a lot of smiles to this weary face. “We have a lot to look forward too especially seeing you guys in the flesh, were gonna get so close we are gonna hug you and get back to normal as fast as we can,” Gord emphasized. “We’ve also been playing throughout all of this besides doing live streams like this one tonight,“ Sandy said, as Gord continued to share, “ya, drive-ins, rooftops, Islands,” and Sandy further mentioned, “ya and ferry boats.”

“This next song is really about all that coming back to where we started from and picking up from where we left off, this is called Landing Lights,” shared Gord.

The next 2 songs, really got my toes tapping and brought an even bigger smile a mile wide. Tell No Lies from 1984’s Listen to The City movie soundtrack was first. “I’m going to have to watch that video over again, Gord shares, as there are a lot of people in it that we haven’t seen in a while, like everybody I guess, we miss each other. We miss you guys and you know we need you more than you need us at times like these. So expect a lot of back and forth love when we come back, as we are so glad we got to do this!” He goes on to say, “but, it’s been an amazing ride, 40 years, and it’s incredible, thank You! Let’s go back to where it all began, way back in 82. This is still 1 of my favorite songs, it’s called Nova Heart.”

That was the end of their stupendous performance, I closed my eyes as I chanted ENCORE over and over again, like I would do live, and sadly no encore came. Times are changing and I am proud to see that they are going with the flow jumping over challenges and keeping fans satisfied any way they musical can. Thank you both Gord and Sandy for making this surreal and come full circle, you were my last show in 2020 and my first full concert in 2021. Keep on making magic, stay safe and keep the musical faith, hope to see you all real soon.

Spoons have more surprises in store, stay in tune by visiting them at https://www.spoonsmusic.com https://www.facebook.com/thespoons.ca https://twitter.com/thespoons https://www.spoonsmusic.com/discography