Sparks Spectacular: Angst In My Pants
Posted in Concert Reviews, Music, Reviews, Sparks Spectacular |By a-anne
Angst In My Pants is my favorite album ever made, so this review will be entirely biased and partial. To hear it live was like a thousand blessings, an invitation to the greatest party—perhaps not the biggest, but the most unstoppably fun. Someone in the audience was wearing a flashing Little Mermaid bracelet. Someone else wore a gold lamé jumpsuit. Another was in possession of a full packet of Dramamine. I love Sparks.
Russell wore the green sequin jacket, as seen on Saturday Night Live in 1982. I think I may have wet myself in a dazzling rush of happiness. The outstanding sadness that Ron didn’t strip or wear the wedding dress was immediately excused and Ron forgiven, for he wrote all these songs and I’d forgive him more or less anything.
For reasons unknown, they played a buzzier, synthier version of the title track, more in keeping with the version played around the Balls era. Having strived to replicate the original sound on every other album, this decision meant the concert started with a little sigh of confusion and disappointment alongside the frenetic cheering that greeted the opener. And then there was the sound: from where I stood at the barrier, everything was a muffled catastrophe. I idly imagined punching the soundman to the beat of “I Predict:” “And somebody’s gonna die/But I can’t reveal who!” indeed. “Sherlock Holmes” became a barrage of percussion and not much else, with synth, bass, guitar, and even Russell’s vocal inaudible above the pounding drums.
Photo © Daniel Gray @Dead By Sunrise
While the concert was dogged with sound problems, in retrospect this was almost irrelevant. The Sparks Spectacular series was half-live-performance and half-concept. Perpetual awe that were actually doing it automatically compensated for all technical hitches, even if it meant losing perfection a little here and there and wanting to kill people at the time. The real joy was hearing the songs live (they never toured the early eighties albums in the UK) and dancing like a fool—and who needs perfect sound for that? Answer: everyone, but with all these albums indelibly etched in the brain, lost melodies and deafening bass lines were automatically corrected in the mix internally.
Meanwhile and regardless, the band played on like veritable troopers—I believe it’s the whole of the backing band’s favorite album—and as long as Russell was wearing that jacket, they could’ve come on, taken a bow, and left, and I would’ve tripped into seventh heaven. “Sextown USA” was a storm, all outrageous vocals and ohhhh yahhhhhs. The real gem-like trio of “Nicotina,” “Mickey Mouse,” and “Moustache” I have no recollection of at all. That’s the amnesia of true bliss for you.
Russell referred to this album as their record of “L.A.-themed songs” and the delightfully vacant lyrics made it all the more of a joy to sing along with. Dog! Cat! Bird! Pig! Lamb! Horse! Cow! Fox! Wolf! Snake! Ox! Fish! A Goldfish! Mouse! I love Sparks. And somehow this remains one of the most poignant records they’ve ever made. “Instant Weight Loss,” “Tarzan and Jane,” and “The Decline and Fall of Me” respectively manage to be vacuously touching tributes to eating disorders, kids gone wild, and old age, while simultaneously remaining gloriously pop. Or something. “The Decline. . . ” in particular made a surprisingly excellent live transition, possibly because Russell was radiating absolute happiness and superb falsetto. Lyrically it’s a mountain amongst mountains: “Now I’ve got a hobby/I collect frozen pizzas/check out my pizzas.”
“Eaten By The Monster of Love” was a riotous sing along: huge, stupid, and perfect. My face hurt from a non-stop grin. We knew what the encore would be. It couldn’t have been anything else, but I still screamed like a fool when they announced it: “Minnie Mouse,” the poppiest pop song ever written. A whole evening of saccharin glee, topped with a cherry of a love song to Minnie Mouse. Life doesn’t get much better.
Click to read. . .
One Response to “Sparks Spectacular: Angst In My Pants”
March 18th, 2010 at 5:18 am
Albert, Albert. I am green with envy. How I wish I had been there, thanks for the excellent reviews. You have only made me more determined to be at the next gig wherever it may be, and whatever it may be. Lady W