Spoon Gets Panned By Coney Island Carny

During their big night out with the New York Times, band du jourSpoon went to Coney Island. It was a mistake. They should have gone somewhere where the carny barkers aren't so musically savvy.

[B]and members were eager to try a boardwalk game called "Shoot the Freak," in which a man in body armor runs around as spectators shoot him with paintball guns. "We brought our own guns, 'cause we're from Texas," Mr. Eno said in an exaggerated Southern accent.

After shooting and being heckled by an announcer who called them "a third-rate emo band," they were ready to move on.

Yeouch! To be fair, Spoon is more of a third-rate pop band but then again, the announcer at "Shoot the Freak"—no matter how accurate in his general evaluation—has always been shaky on his genre distinctions during heckling.