Sparks Spectacular: Halfnelson
Posted in Concert Reviews, Music, Reviews, Sparks Spectacular |By Craig Irving
Sparks performed their Sparks Spectacular earlier this year and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to achieve my lifelong goal of seeing the band live over and over again across multiple nights. . . and to see my favorite of their albums no less. “Wonder Girl?” “Whippings and Apologies?” “Biology 2?” The entire Island Records trilogy?
This was going to be insane. . . I flew to London from Toronto with a friend.
The anticipation was killing me and I really had no idea what to expect in terms of venue-size and popularity. Knowing their largest crowd would be drawn from London, I was nervous. I wanted the most intimate experience I could get. Selfish, I know. . . but I had to be up close. Walking into the club I was relieved. Even at the back I would’ve been totally happy, but we made our way to the very front of the stage. It filled up quickly, but I had my spot and I was happy as hell.
Photo © Daniel Gray @Dead By Sunrise
When they started playing “Wonder Girl” I was immediately blown away; this was going to be really really really good. I didn’t even care that the sound needed a little tweaking and correcting; I was totally engaged with how impressive Russell’s vocals were and how he matched the original album’s delivery so impeccably. Watching Ron work his genius and Steven McDonald enjoying himself greatly kept a smile plastered across my face for the entire night.
“High C” was hilarious, as the audience filled in those weird melodies. “Simple Ballet” and “Slowboat” were both beautifully delivered by Russell, but the real acclaim should be saved for “Biology 2.” Wow. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that it would’ve been about 40 years ago that this song was written and Russell sang it exactly the same way, not a single note was off. That’s an insane accomplishment, and a serious testament to Russell’s talents.
There were definitely songs that made an amazing impression on me live. “Fa La Fa Lee” was awesome and fun and definitely set the mood for the night. The killer song for me though, was “Big Bands.” By this point in the set, the sound mix was perfected and the song sounded. . . big. Jim and Marcus definitely helped make that happen, but my amazement was watching how great Steven Nistor played drums. Everything already sounded so perfect to me at this point, and they played this song damn well.
If Sparks were going to put any songs from the Halfnelson show onto a DVD, I would hope it would be “Big Bands,” “Biology 2″ and “(No More) Mr. Nice Guys.”
The conversation between my friend and I as soon as the show ended was full of short, self-contained statements like, “I’m soooooo happy” or “Exceeded expectations.” What else could we say?
We walked away from the venue in utter glee, as we rambled on and on about this historical night we just experienced: how exciting it was watching Steve McDonald play with Sparks, and how happy we were that we would get to relive this experience four more times! It’s saying quite a bit, I think, when a band you travel halfway around the world to see doesn’t disappoint you in the slightest. I was ready for more. . .
Click to read. . .
Tim Collins’ review
Albert Resonox’s review