Not mine - but caught by my brother Paul from his stalls spot!
Let
it not be said that I’d refuse a free gig ticket…! My brother Paul booked a circle
ticket at Oxford New Theatre to see quirky and enduring 70’s glam pop/ art rock
mavericks Sparks, then realised that as he was a VIP member of the promotion company,
he was entitled to a second-row seat with benefits! So, his circle ticket was
going begging, and despite this then becoming the first night of 3 in 3 for me (yipe!),
I happily snapped it up to go along to a gig with my brother, even if I don’t get
to sit with him! Sparks themselves are (very!) late-comers to my gig “Dance
Card” but having thoroughly enjoyed their previous showing (five years ago – practically
to the day! – at the Forum, gig 1,086), I was well up for again catching the
brothers Mael, out promoting their forthcoming album (their 25th!)
“The Girl Is Crying In Her Latte”…
An
early departure, this; concerned about always-gridlocked Oxford being further affected
by the closure of Botley Bridge on our usual drive in, I drove over to Paul’s
for 4.30! A happily easy drive in, however, got us parked up in the cavernous
Westgate car park and sat in the splendid Wig and Pen pub opposite, enjoying a
drink and fine pub grub by 5.30! Milled around outside chatting, before doors
at 7 saw us go our separate ways, Paul for his champagne reception and me up in
the gods! A fine view, however, for opener Mr. B The Gentleman Rhymer at 7.30. As
per his previous Sparks support slot, he was a toff throwback novelty act armed
with a ukulele and some backing tapes, but following a quirky anthem to introverts,
“Looking Forward To Leaving”, his set this time largely consisted of a medley
of Sparks songs (“Missionary Position”, “Amateur Hour” and “Get In The Swing”
notable vignettes), before his own finale, “Suburban Homeboy”. A jolly cove
indeed, I’ll warrant, but only palatable in small doses – lucky this was only
20 minutes!
Whiled
the time away reminiscing of my first trip here, in this very circle over 42
years ago for Echo And The Bunnymen (gig 2!), and checking out the crowd – a broad
church indeed, with anyone from Eagles via Undertones to Art Brut repped on
tshirts; me, I’d gone for Bauhaus in recognition of yesterday’s World Goth Day!
Anyway, the pre-gig opera backing track thankfully abated at 8.30, the 4-piece band
backline taking to the stage in shadows (where they stayed throughout, apart from
when introduced by Russell Mael during the encore), followed by deadpan, moustachioed
keyboardist Ron Mael, then his energetic lightning-rod of a younger brother
Russell, bounding onstage like Zebedee, 74 years old yet with the verve and
vitality of a man a third his age. “So may we start?” he inquired of the crowd,
ironically as this was the title of the opener!
This
was again a splendid performance from Sparks; the 2 Mael brothers may possess a
combined age of 151 (!) but this is no nostalgia bathchair trundle. This was “Opening
Night” of the new album tour, the brash industrial synth pulse of the title track
second number in, and they were quickly out of the blocks. “Show number 1! It’s
going to be fun…” announced Russell, before the circular, almost medieval riff
of “Monster Of Love” ceded to the smoother, more 80’s Eurodisko rocker “Angst
In My Pants”. Indeed, much of the set was largely keyboard/ synth fuelled,
falling into either darker, challenging and robotik sheet-metal Krautrock noise
(such as the flippant “Balls” and discordant, gabbling newie “Veronica Lake”)
or more conventional, poppier early 80’s Blitz Club fodder (e.g. the unapologetically
hooky “When I’m With You”, the Iggy Pop-esque strident stomp of “Toughest Girl
In Town” and the Moroder-esque licks of “When Do I Get To Sing My Way?”). Some
worked better than others for me, but every track was at least inventive and
challenging. And there were exceptions to these rules, of course; a fun early “Beaver
O’Lindy” was an odd juxtaposition of rolling drum menace and Parisienne backstreet
accordion Chanson, and “It Doesn’t Have To Be That Way”, possibly my favourite newie,
was a sweeping and stately paean to individuality. The whole set was however
replete with Sparks trademarks such as octave straddling chord changes showing
off Russell’s high falsetto, brain-hugging repetitive hooks, energy, oddball
humour… and of course very very long song titles!
A
late, soaring “Number One Song In Heaven” again featured Ron briefly abandoning
his keyboard to do a goony dance, then the subsequent “This Town Ain’t Big
Enough For The Both Of Us” was the highlight of the night; the unmistakeable piano
opening giving way to a mighty, thunderous platform boot glam stomp. Brilliant!
A couple of slower newies and a 2 song encore then rounded off a splendid 1
hour 40 set, the Maels remaining onstage to take an extended and well deserved
curtain call. Paul grabbed a list (just the one, unfortunately) from his advanced
position, then we caught our breath before an easy drive home. Great night in
fraternal company; a freebie, maybe, but I’d have been happy to pay good money
to see Sparks tonight!
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