SPARKS

[Loreley]

But on-topic:

ANYONE ELSE PICKING UP THEIR TICKETS AT THE BOX OFFICE??

If so, please reply a.s.a.p.!!
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Not so suave.
YouTube.
twitter.

[sin-is-quite-the-thing]

TOMORROW.
It's tomorrow

I'm getting up at 3am and traveling 332 miles to see Sparks for an hour...
You better be reading this guys
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-Up Here In Heaven Without You.-

[PETER RAWCLIFFE]

Have a great time Sin,Im sure the boys will make the early start worthwhile,think the weather is good as well,hope Ron does his dance for you!!lol

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WRITTEN OF COURSE BY THE MIGHTIEST HAND

[Bobby Muir]

I'll be there too and I've been speaking to few others to arrange a rendezvous. Look out for the Sparks t-shirts and excited faces!!

Crowd surfing for the over 40s optional.
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But when I trimmed it real small my Jewish friends would never call.

[sin-is-quite-the-thing]

Thanks Peter!

Sounds fun Bobby! If you spot my "It Ain't Done With Smoke And Mirrors" shirt do say hello!




(Oh and Peter you were right about my hair being "some weird colour by then" it's chestnut brown/deep red now
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-Up Here In Heaven Without You.-

[jill]

Bon voyage to Inverary to all of you lucky ones and be careful not to get lost... some people have already mistaken the place:
http://eventful.com/events/sparks-/E0-001-014000207-3
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Entertainment or art - one should know from the start

[sin-is-quite-the-thing]

Lol!! So...It's not in Scotland?...
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-Up Here In Heaven Without You.-

[PETER RAWCLIFFE]

Scotland beware,Sin is on her way armed with meat cleavers and a weird
new hair colour,anything could happen!!lol.....
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WRITTEN OF COURSE BY THE MIGHTIEST HAND

[E-Clect-Eddy]

So she's either a butcher with a freak hair accident or.... no that's it

All you guys and galls have fun at the festiival and do tell of R&R werespotted with FF or the other way round. Guests appearences would be nice?
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"Somebody's been putting pineapple juice in my pineapple juice!"

www.last.fm/user/E-Clect-Eddy

[grace adieu]

Oh I am so so so jealous of everyone who can make it. Enjoy, you lucky people! And then come back here and tell us stories...
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It would carry off objects of which it grew fond
And protect them by dropping them into the pond.

[lilywearsmoschino]

GREAT SHOW tonight! Weather was kind to us. First (almost) dry day for weeks! Great to see lots of other Sparks fans there too.

Sparks were really up for this gig, Ron was great, so were Steve, Steven, Jim and Marcus. Russell was of course fantastic as always, and the midgies thought so too. Lots of energy tonight, he was all over the stage!!

Here's the set list - Got to take it home with me too (thanks, Robert!!)
Total running time approx 1 hour 15 mins - no bad for a festival. First half hour was the ECOTD songs.

Good Morning (with Ron in bed)
Strange Animal (first verse spoken by Russell)
I Can't Believe You'd Fall For All The Crap In This song
Let the Monkey Drive
Lighten Up, Morrissey

Something For The Girl With Everything
Propaganda/At Home, At Work, At Play
No 1 Song in Heaven, Parts 1 & 2
Goofing Off
Moustache
Dick Around
This Town
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[Simon Majury]

Thanks for the review Lily. Sounds like you all had a great time! I'm pleased to hear everything went well. Yes, 1 hour 15 minutes is very good!! A good selection of songs. It's great going to a Sparks concert now knowing that they can perform anything from the back catalogue as we all witnessed in London. It's nice to hear so many Sparks fans managed to attend!! Thanks again..

[E-Clect-Eddy]

Looks like Moustache and Goofing Off are here to stay.
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"Somebody's been putting pineapple juice in my pineapple juice!"

www.last.fm/user/E-Clect-Eddy

[PETER RAWCLIFFE]

Thanks Lily for your review,hope you had a good time.Sounds like a good set list as well, No `my way`or `amateur hour` which is unusual but they cant do them all.What song did the crowd respond best to Lily? Did Ron do the `dance`? .

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WRITTEN OF COURSE BY THE MIGHTIEST HAND

[Deano]

Love the fact that there are maybe only 2 or 3 songs in that set that the general public will know.Also love the fact that the first 5 songs were straight through from the new album.It would have been easy to mix them up with older better know songs.Hey you are having it our way...

[Green Dragon]

Can somebody post a few photos, please!

[SteveBoyce]

What was the response like from Sparks virgins (the mass of the crowd I assume)?
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The concept of two people living together for 25 years without a serious dispute suggests a lack of spirit only to be admired in sheep.

[phonon]

[allydodd]

What an adventure, that was for all concerned! But believe me, that performance was well worth it.

It was quite an effort to squelch through an endless muddy trail from car park to the various encampments of marquees forming the festival. Similarly this grassy expanse quickly became a quadmire, despite a well-resourced attempt by the worthy organisers to lay temporary paths at high footfall entrances. Although some grey clouds were glowering overhead, the rain thankfully stayed off. This made it possible to appreciate the beautiful scenery of Inverary, which sits along a loch framed by precipitous hills ascended by wide variety of trees. The festival is in fact within the grounds of its majestic stately conical towered castle, whose off-grey stonework seems be imbued with a colour mix reflecting the verdant arboreal setting and blue waters of the sky and loch.

Sparks were not due to play this enclosed marquee until eleven at night. This giant tent was close to being totally dark inside, even on our arrival at 4pm. Whilst there was a more than decent chart topping line up on the main "Oyster" stage, we preferred to take in the second "Guitars and Other Machines" stage of more alternative acts. (I don't know that makes Sparks in the "Unknown Pleasures" tent, but I think there was possibly practicality in being undercover). Noah and the Whale got a sizeable crowd going. The draw for me and Bobby there was Ladytron who were excellent, and can be recommended for Sparks fans checking out for the future.

Throughout the day, I was aware of the occasional whispering coming among the most youthful festival goers directed towards my Sparks T-shirt. Nothing mocking it was, rather, in fact, a sort of a hushed exchange and pointing in awe. Some of the more experienced music lovers are more inclined to stop for a chat at music events and other places of social gathering. Do wear your Sparks T-shirts wherever possible - it makes you feel more likeable. I thus stuck my chest out proudly, in the confidence that the band would get a big crowd.

Come night time, familiar faces of the faithful were beginning to line the front row in eager anticipation, though music rendered conversation hopeless. Thanks for keeping our spirits up, Lilly. Three screens filled the back of the stage, suggesting that Sparks were going to show how they were so much more than a rock band. Meantime, Sue marched smartly about the stage inspecting every detail with all the grace and authority of a ballet instructress. A brief sighting was made R&R who both looked pensive and immaculate, fittingly incongruous amidst the muddy revellers.

Crystal Castles blistered energy with a driving synth and drums, whilst an alarming waif-like female coiled and shreiked incoherently like a deranged banshee. It was impossible not to be gleefully caught up in the fun of the escalating insanity of the crowd, though an uplift of the drama into the more musical was becoming overdue. Once I'd stopped bouncing in the surge, a young guy asked me if I'd got any pills to sell... However, the crowd left with their band and I began to grow seriously concerned about the lack of reception waiting for the great headliners. Outside there were still plenty of people to be heard talking Sparks, but few venturing near the tent entrance.

It must have been my naivity, as finally a ten to eleven, the tent become suddenly full. Then a bit of shouting. Then cheers. Ron was carried on stage in blanket upon an over small bed. Ah ah ah, the new album. They had the balls to do the new album! Fantastic.. And why not, it was as good as anything? Behind humming out the introduction was the great 21x21 line up of Jim Wilson, Marcus Blake, Steve McDonald and Steven Nister. Next Russell sprung onto stage and Ron leapt out of bed to "Good Morning". Far behind, the sound of wolf whistles greeted Russell’s arrival.

Next was Strange Animal, with Russell confidently speaking the words of the first verse as if to make it more comprehensible for the less familar crowd. Its spurt into breakneck acceleration was coming off as even more dramatic, and my pride was swelling confidence with the thought that all these curious visitors were being blown away.

And then bounding into zesty pop with "I can't believe that you would fall for all the crap in this song", featuring both Ron and Russell doing the actions. Only you, only you, my love beginning to stir audience participation.

It couldn't be going any better, when Susie appeared on screen for "Let the Monkey Drive". And yes, PETER, Ron did do a little dance. By that time, impromptu cheers from the crowd convinced that there were more Sparks fans in the tent than previously identified.

Russell's address to the crowd of the next song not sounding derogatory hailed a skip of track or two to "Lighten Up Morrissey".

"Something for the Girl With Everything", furnished the crowd with a classic golden oldie.

"Propaganda", done with as much flair as at 21x21, was followed in quite succession with "At Home, At Work, At Play". As fresh and enigmatic as anything to their ears of the non fans, this must have sounded.

Ron's hitting a familiar key, signalled Russell to introduce "our seventh album Introducing Sparks” without the slightest irony. The now celebrated lines about "the weekend just beginning" I just knew was going to lead to a mass of unsuspecting audience "Goofing Off". And what a guitar solo by Jim Wilson!

The heaving synth build up to No1 in Heaven, seemed to hit the right note with the crowd, who were faring less well energy wise than this athletic. With several versions of the song, Russell almost made a blunder but everyone was by that time out of reality in pop heaven. Not only was Russell’s singing top notch, I was impressed with just how robust he was as front man from the very start of the show.

The uptempo continued with the pounding "Moustache", with a show-stopping slickness suggesting that the instantaneous telepathy suspected between Russell and Ron had been further connected to all six band members.

By the time Ron took centrestage to do the actions to introduce Dick Around, everyone in the tent seemed to be "getting Sparks". I guess the numerous tempo changes rocked quite a few, but the sheer quality of the song was generating much appreciation. I'm convinced the crowd volume was twice round about the time of the penultimate song as it was at the start.

Total uproar on the closing number "This Town Aint Big Enough for the Both of Us". This was the song that everybody knew, and could be shameless in wanting to make lots of noise to thank the guys with.

In all this was a great day for which I'm glad to have the chance of. The long trek back in the sinking mud to the rather dark car park was palatable through great company (cheers Bobby, Douglas & Callum) after such a stunning performance. It was a pleasure to see the band so brilliant outwith home territory. Of course, I'd do it again next time. Meantime, I'd recommend that the Sparksmart add Wellington Boots to its product range.

[E-Clect-Eddy]

Thanx for this great review Allydodd... as if i was there myself.

So what guess about the number of Sparks-fans that did attend?

It's fun to hear i'm not the onlyone who gets asked for pills at gigs/parties. And i didn't even look like a drugsdealer ....then :-)
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"Somebody's been putting pineapple juice in my pineapple juice!"

www.last.fm/user/E-Clect-Eddy