Sparks
Live On The Moon
Sparks under exclusive license to Transgressive Records Ltd.
It’s fair to say it’s been a big year for Sparks and me — seeing them live on their first ever New Zealand tour, and doing the whole bit with research beforehand, reading a couple of books, rewatching the doco, listening to the full catalogue! So I’m more than primed for this, just their second (official) live album.
How ‘Sparks’ Are You? How Much Prep’ Do You Do For A Gig?
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May 14
Sometimes you go to a gig on a whim. Tonight, Matthew, I think I’ll go see Regurgitator. A good idea for sure. I’ve seen them twice before. They always play all their quirky hits. No prep required. I know the catalogue. I’ll head along and have a good time I’m sure.
And it’s both fun, and fantastic — the silly little gimmick they commit to of suggesting they are broadcasting live from the moon is both totally in keeping with the quirky, almost surrealist vision of the band, and also not so annoying it can’t be pretty much totally ignored.
And after some daft/deft narration — depends how much you want to play along — we get going proper with So May We Start from the movie musical Annette, and a perfect new gig opener it is.
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This version of the Sparks band might be the best ever, certainly when you consider the abilities of the younger players to turn on a dime and follow the Mael brothers across a 50-year timeline.
Do Things My Own Way from last year’s excellent MAD! (the record they’re touring behind here) is a new live-concert favourite, instantly, and both Running Up A Tab At The Hotel For The Fab and Jansport Backpack do a similar job each; they keep the energy up and the mild lunacy too, whilst being catchy as the common cold.
I might want to suggest that Russell Mael’s voice isn’t at its greatest across this album, even if it risks me getting chuck out of the online fan-club. But at least I can report that this is in comparison only with this year’s show where I thought he sounded incredible.
There are some different songs here from the show I saw, they have changed up the order and flow of the set a little, but one thing that is consistent is the build to the middle, and then the downhill thrill-ride of songs here that include Music You Can Dance To, When Do I Get To Sing ‘My Way’ and The Number One Song In Heaven, which then whirls the band and audience along and into This Town Ain’t Big Enough For The Both of Us, and Whippings and Apologies. Of course The Girl is Crying in Her Latte is the big recent hit, replete with Cate Blanchett dance-video (and narration here for the live album, and select appearances) and no one could ever have expected this band to just do things its own way until becoming a legacy act in a style of their own, nor being capable to do more than lip-service (and full vocal duty) to those earlier songs. But that’s where we are. And thankfully, where they are.
You either get them, or you don’t. And if you do, you’ll want to hear (and have) this. Particularly if you’ve seen them lately, on this exact tour, or the ones just either side of it. It’s the fan souvenir for now. And it’s as fabulous as you might hope all up.
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