Sparks Spectacular: Balls (2000)

By Miss Missy Tannenbaum

As on previous evenings the sound was brilliant; every detail in the tunes was loud and clear. Tammy Glover, who was a Sparks drummer for ten years, was back for this set and the two subsequent ones. It was lovely to have the chance to see the lady play live.

One thing I hoped for was the guitar sound Ron had done as an intro on Balls Live from 2000. It’s not a part of the album but was a very good sound to start a concert with. On this gig Balls started with the same tune as the album. Both the title song and the second song “More Than A Sex Machine” were powerful to hear and it was impossible not to clap along.

“Scheherazade” was beautiful, as always. Even though the strings are only generated from synthesizers, they are so dramatic and pure-sounding that the fact remains that this song will never sound bad live, ever.

“Aeroflot” is not my favorite but the intro with Tammy chanting “Thank you for flying Aeroflot” was incredible, and there was an astounding effect of her voice being “lifted” from speaker to speaker. As irony would have it, the microphone decided to go on strike with a loud “bang” in the beginning of a song about an airline that lacks reliability.

A technician tried his best to find a new microphone which he had to rob from the other musicians. Even though the vocal was gone, the music went on and so did Russell, giving signs to the audience to sing along which we of course did since sing-alongs are always fun.

The hunt for a good working microphone went on. Russell threw away one he was handed before he confiscated Jim Wilson’s mic, all for the noble task of getting the lead vocal heard by the crowd.

The mic sound needed a little boosting but it improved by the “Calm Before The Storm.” Of course, this and “Bullet Train” again made the audience clap and chant with the music. “The Angels” was beautifully done with an added guitar in the mix which was another highlight of the night.

The encore, “Katharine Hepburn,” was a wonderful surprise and without a doubt a huge favorite (which was actually played again on the last night). It’s an obscure song many fans crossed their fingers would be an encore, so it was an almost unreal and overwhelming experience to hear Russell singing that song for the first time. Problems aside, this turned out to be a splendid concert.