Jon Spencer performs at Slim’s in San Francisco on Feb. 24, 2019. Photo: Ted Hand

SAN FRANCISCO —  As it was Oscars night, Jon Spencer stood onstage toward the end of his set at Slim’s on Sunday and pulled an envelope from the pocket of his denim jacket.

“The award for the greatest hitmaker goes to…” Spencer paused a moment before pulling an origami swan from the envelope and declaring the winner. “Me.”

And it was indeed quite a performance from the veteran guitarist whose career spans all the way back to the ’80s with his first band, lo-fi legends Pussy Galore.

Spencer has spent the last 30 years perfecting his unique brand of psychedelic roots rock, first in Pussy Galore, then forming Boss Hog with his wife, vocalist Cristina Martinez. Spencer eventually created the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, which fused blues, funk, noise and hip-hop into a potent blend that played a big part in the New York music scene in the early ’90s. Spencer and the Blues Explosion collaborated with a who’s who of artists including Beck, The Beastie Boys and legendary bluesman R.L. Burnside, whom Spencer rescued from three decades of obscurity.

Sunday night’s performance witnessed Spencer and his band the HITmakers at the tail end of a month-and-a-half-long tour in America and Japan in support of his most recent solo album, Jon Spencer Sings the Hits, released last Fall. Moving away from longtime Blues Explosion bandmates Judah Bauer and Russell Simins, Spencer recruited Sam Coomes, the frontman of Portland band Quasi, to play keyboards and scream during Spencer’s call and response. Sunday’s show featured two drummers: Mike Gard (aka M. Sord) and early Sonic Youth drummer Bob Bert. Fun fact: Bert played the parking lot attendant who stole Ferris Bueller’s dad’s Ferrari. Gard played a conventional drum kit, while Bert played a collection of trash cans, metal coils and scrap metal, often hitting them in time with a pair of hammers.

A consummate showman, Spencer worked the stage like a seasoned pro. Clad head to toe in dark denim, he struck rock poses with a beat-up cheap-looking guitar. Amid the sonic spectacle, Spencer appeared 10 feet tall, towering over the audience as he delivered the occasional mid-song soliloquy, sounding a bit like Elvis on drugs ranting over the public address system at Wal-mart.

The HITmakers played a collection of songs from throughout Spencer’s career but the bulk of the material seemed to come from the new solo album. On “Do the Trashcan,” the album’s first single, Bert was able to take this admonition literally as he pummeled a metal trash can with his hammers. The combination of a conventional drum kit helmed by M. Sord and the unorthodox collection of tools and junk battered by Burt built a thick and groovy foundation for the music, as evidenced by the small but enthusiastic audience dancing to every song. Standouts from the latest album included “Ghost” and “Time 2 Be Bad.” Amid his most recent material, Spencer peppered his setlist with songs from Pussy Galore, including “New Breed” and “Just Want to Die.”

The few Blues Explosion numbers the band played were clearly the crowd’s favorites. During the encore a raucous version of “Bellbottoms” from the Blues Explosion’s 1994 album Orange, fans went nuts, just as they had for Orange cut “Dang” earlier in the set.

Now in his 50s, Spencer shows no sign of slowing down. For about 90 minutes he treated the devoted fans to a new iteration of a familiar sound. With new metal junk to bang on and a seriously funky frontman, Spencer and the HITmakers continue to demonstrated their ability to stay fresh and relevant. 

Follow writer David Gill at Twitter.com/songotaku and Instagram/songotaku.