[…continued from last post]

At the set’s midpoint came one of my all time Sparks Favorites: the ironic flipside to Pulp’s “Common People,” quite probably. That hilarious mockery of privileged class slumming, “Suburban Homeboy.” More amazingly, as Russell exited the stage they performed the “Ron Speaks” B-side version from the single of the same name. Wherein Ron Mael came to the front of the stage and drily recited the song’s lyrics. With brother Russell only popping back onstage at the song’s midpoint to add his enthusiastically chipper backing vocals to the wondrous song. I’ve now seen it performed in two different ways at both of my Sparks concerts. The lord can take me now.

Sparks 80s canon got a bit of short shrift in the set, but “All You Ever Think About Is Sex” from “Sparks In Outer Space” was a good choice to include. The melodrama of the “MAD!” albums’s single “Drowned In A Sea Of Tears” made for a smart change of pace in the set. I have to admit that at first “Jansport Backpack” from the new album felt like a slight slog on first listen but that was before I became obsessed with it. Give it half a chance, and the song will worm its way into your skull to make its presence felt for hours is not days at a time.

I try not to have any expectations when I see a concert, because I need to keep myself open to the possibilities for wonder and abandon. Still, there are certain songs by certain bands that I would always roll over like a puppy for. “I Travel” by Simple Minds would be one. “Music That You Can Dance To” by Sparks would be another. It was the lead single to the mid 80s album of the same name; not necessarily regarded as the band’s finest hour, though I’d be first in line to defend its merits as one of my favorite songs by the group. The metalyrical approach was peerless and in concert with the song’s Hi-NRG vibe, made for dance music bliss that engaged the hips as well as the cranium.

So when I heard those sequencer loops begin, it was a galvanizing moment for this fan! As the vibe was pretty much sequencer based and this band had no sax players in it to play the sax lines on the record, this allowed guitarist Eli Pearl the freedom to sashay throughout the entire song while adding his BVs to the mix. Giving the Brothers Mael some visual competition that they usually don’t have.

It can be argued that the entire last 31 year arc of Sparks career renaissance can be put down to the progress and success they found in Germany with the “Gratuitous Sax And Senseless Violins” album. That album revisited the Mororder era via the then emergent sounds of Techno. The repetition began to seep into their consciousness further with the “Balls” album; finally reaching a fever pitch on the dramatic re-imagining of the band on “L’il Beethoven®.” One can certainly hear the stirrings of that album’s explorations on the German hit single “When Do I Get To Sign My Way?” With the full band available the players injected more guitars and real drums into the piece, grounding it in ways that the album rendition couldn’t achieve.

This carried through with the next number; the crucial “Number One In Heaven.” Their guitars added waves of even further tight rhythm to the arrangement and the fills of live drummer Max Whipple managed to keep in time with the heights of tempo that the song eventually climbed to the Techno middle eight. Then Russell took his leave of the stage and Ron rose from his sequenced keyboard and counted down carefully with his fingers until it was the correct bar for him to begin the infamous Ron Dance! Grinning wildly as he capitulated to self-animation for the rapt crowd. And then he once more sat down at his keys. Allowing Russell to return to the mic for the climax of the song, whose lyrics never fail to make me weep as the climactic la-la-las wash over me.

After that point, where could they go but up, so then the captivating “This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both Of Us” erupted from the stage. An atomic bomb of a song sporting a wickedly complex arrangement closer to Gilbert + Sullivan than Rock. Whether live or Memorex, it embeds itself into my skull with a vengeance. The twin guitars of Evan Weiss and Eli Pearl were adding lots of meat to the bones of the melody here. That Russell can still ride this song like a jockey [and his stage wear was no less colorful than riding silks…] was a thing of wonder.

A super deep cut from album number two [ca. 1972!] followed with “Whippings And Apologies.” It was a song that was one of the three new to my ears this evening as I don’t think I’ve ever heard the first note from “A Woofer In Tweeter’s Clothing.” I counted myself lucky to have heard the title elsewhere! And the set reached it’s close with the plaintive “Lord Have Mercy” from “MAD!” The band exited the stage for about a minute as the thunder of shoes on the Tabernacle floor began to ring out in the night. The band quickly returned to perform “The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte” and “All That” from their previous two albums. It’s impressive that an encore for once isn’t their oldest, most beloved material. And with that a vivacious and eclectic Sparks concert; only my second, ended as the entire band took their curtain call bows.

This set list rightly featured nearly half of the new album with selections from a further eleven discs. I wouldn’t have minded hearing “In Daylight,” “I-405 Rules,” or “A Long Red Light” on offer from “MAD!” but c’est la vie. The Sparks itch has been well and duly scratched…for now!That I got to see the show with friends like Pam and Sandra was icing on the cake. It had been decades since I’d seen a show with Sandra and Pam just went clubbing back in the day. I don’t think I ever saw a concert with her! Perhaps that will change going forward?

This show was a long time coming. My wife had gotten us tickets for Atlanta in 2022 but the Omicron wave of Covid dissuaded us from attending. Having seen the “Revenge Of Two Hands, One Mouth” tour in 2013, the urge was certainly there to see Sparks in full fury with their band for the very different vibe. But I was not certain that it would happen. Honestly, when the dates were announced earlier this year, I made the decision to demur. Little did I know at the time that I’d be traveling almost constantly from July through September for everything from family vacations and concerts to business travel. It took the high value target of a Pulp show in Atlanta [at the same venue!] the day prior to move my hand. Pulp were not only a band I had never seen, but never imagined I’d ever see. When presented with this fact, all steely resolve on seeing Sparks a decadent second time on the same trip time evaporated instantly.

This is all the more relevant when taking the ages of Sparks into account. When I call them a 70s-80s band it’s not only a reference to significant decades where they were musically active, but also their ages. Russell will be 77 in a few weeks. Ron is already 80. Though they have undoubtedly taken care of their health in ways probably alien to much of the corpus of Rock, titans won’t always be walking the earth. I’m no spring chicken either.

Another salient fact in their favor is the notion of how many other bands have a wealth of 28 albums to draw from for their set list? That they played that amazing residency of 21 shows over 21 nights in the UK showcasing their complete canon of every album played in full – with a second set drawn from of all other 20 albums [which also had to change every night] shows the dedication to their art that The Brothers bring to their game. Can we agree that they have no peers? Certainly not after a further seven albums as well as two musicals they wrote sandwiched in there – all during their “golden years” as well? The musical treasure of a Sparks concert is something we must take care to partake of until we can do so no longer.

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