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SPARKS
Discussions about the band SPARKS
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Girl With Everything
Fan-in-Training
Joined: 31 May 2008
Posts: 19
Location: New Zealand
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 Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 1:14 am Post subject: |
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Ron and Russell are masters of the big gesture but I'm not quite sure why the burning of the albums was so moving. Flames always make for alarming imagery of course - think of burning books or flags. I think I became emotional partly because this wonderful adventure was nearly over but also seeing all those familiar iconic covers one after the other was like seeing my whole life flash in front of me. It made me realise just how many hours of enjoyment I've had from all that music.
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sjadey
Sparks Guru
Joined: 20 May 2008
Posts: 3736
Location: High Wycombe, Bucks., England
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 2:28 am Post subject: Re: Mark beat me to it again... |
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| Noisy Boy wrote: |
... Ron symbolically burning all 21 album covers on screen during the end of Likeable.
... special mention to Looks Looks Looks, which I thought was pretty poor at the Indiscreet gig, but absolutely on the money tonight – all lean, no wastage, no losing their way. Maybe they learned from last time. |
I think Ron only burned the first 20 albums but not ECOTD.
The strings and brass tonight were from Trinity College, as used for Plagiarism night. Whereas, for Indiscreet, I think they used members of that night's support band, didn't they?
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Gonna hang myself from my family tree. |
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BigManRestless
Certified Fan
Joined: 26 Mar 2008
Posts: 94
Location: London
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 2:42 am Post subject: Re: Mark beat me to it again... |
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| sjadey wrote: | | Noisy Boy wrote: |
... Ron symbolically burning all 21 album covers on screen during the end of Likeable.
... special mention to Looks Looks Looks, which I thought was pretty poor at the Indiscreet gig, but absolutely on the money tonight – all lean, no wastage, no losing their way. Maybe they learned from last time. |
I think Ron only burned the first 20 albums but not ECOTD.
The strings and brass tonight were from Trinity College, as used for Plagiarism night. Whereas, for Indiscreet, I think they used members of that night's support band, didn't they? |
There weren't any strings at ECOTD.
They were the same players at Indiscreet and Plagiarism. |
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Robin Davies
Certified Fan
Joined: 16 Jun 2004
Posts: 64
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 4:36 am Post subject: |
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| T.N.K. wrote: | The sound was terrible in the venue, from the centre front, left front and right front. Someone shouted about the bass drum being too loud and it was. I'm not fussy, but it was really really bad and distorted most songs into inaudibility. Good Morning & Those Mysteries might as well have been old 78rpms playing - I'm so disappointed that such an amazing band and concert sounded this way for me, especially after the 21x21 triumph. I went to 14 of them, and nothing sounded as bad as this (maybe Number One in Heaven? Couldn't make that one).
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You're right. The ECOTD show itself was marvellously inventive but was let down ONCE AGAIN by the sound crew who, in all honesty must be deaf or something. I've grumbled about the sound quality many times before and last night I asked the guy next to me what the thought of it and he said it was too bassy as well. An album that could have soared to the stratosphere was kept stubbornly earthbound by that all-pervasive bass fug.
The sound did seem to improve a lot as the encore set progressed (though I had moved back a bit by then, partly because the stage was so low it was hard to see much from anywhere that wasn't elevated) but by then a considerable amount of damage had been done.
Still, all credit to Sparks for seeing this amazing project through to the finish. I'll treasure the memories of this extravaganza, especially Indiscreet, Plagiarism and Lil' Beethoven. |
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unprinted
Certified Fan
Joined: 23 May 2008
Posts: 55
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:00 am Post subject: |
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| T.N.K. wrote: | | The sound was terrible in the venue, from the centre front, left front and right front. |
Well, for those of us in the cheap, erm, 'same price but much higher up' seats, it was ok.
The best sound I've ever heard at a popular beat combo concert was at Karl Bartos at the ULU a few years ago. Bass you could feel throughout your body, but utterly clear at all frequencies. |
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unprinted
Certified Fan
Joined: 23 May 2008
Posts: 55
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:02 am Post subject: Re: Mark beat me to it again... |
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| Noisy Boy wrote: | | P.S. Does Intro (Reprise) now hold the crown for the only album track never played live? |
Wasn't that - somewhat extended! - what the burning of the 20 album covers was done to? |
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unprinted
Certified Fan
Joined: 23 May 2008
Posts: 55
Location: London, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:06 am Post subject: |
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| ldgraves wrote: | | I wonder if this will be the first concert in years where they don't perform "This Town"??? |
First concert in two days, you mean! 
I wasn't expecting it, so when Ron tested the keyboard  when they came out for the second encore, I recognised the sound and went 'noooo, are they?'  and then they did! |
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iloverussell
Power Groupie
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 430
Location: Hampshire, England
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:34 am Post subject: |
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Well... its the morning after.. Im sitting here reading the posts on this thread and I feel I might come to tears.
WHAT A SHOW!!!!!
WOOOOOOWW
Im pretty much speechless.... What a spectacular month!
Great meeting people at the venue.
Was worth a 7 and a half hour wait to be front row!
xxxxxx
p.s. just gutted they didnt do plagiarism version of Propaganda!
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manicstar
Newbie
Joined: 21 May 2008
Posts: 6
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:47 am Post subject: |
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I was in the front row of Level 1 and apart from a couple of blips on the levels the sound was perfect as was the view. Having been to Shepherd's Bush several times before I deliberately booked upstairs.
Plus when I looked downstairs at the start I realised the setlist for the second hour was on top of the mixing desk so had a heads up on what was to come! I think the choice could have been better. Nice to give Ron a moment in the spotlight on Shopping Mall but Moustache was a mess and I could have done without Those Mysteries and a track off Propaganda or No.1 instead or more Kimono. Even Surburban Homeboy would have been a good singalong encore as Lil' Beethoven was ignored. But i suppose you can't please everyone....
Highlights for me were 'I Can't Believe You'd Fall For All The Crap', 'Dick Around', 'Get In The Swing' and 'Change' and the best version of 'This Town' to date. |
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Noisy Boy
Power Groupie
Joined: 20 Feb 2006
Posts: 292
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 5:53 am Post subject: Re: Mark beat me to it again... |
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| sjadey wrote: | | Noisy Boy wrote: |
... Ron symbolically burning all 21 album covers on screen during the end of Likeable.
... special mention to Looks Looks Looks, which I thought was pretty poor at the Indiscreet gig, but absolutely on the money tonight – all lean, no wastage, no losing their way. Maybe they learned from last time. |
I think Ron only burned the first 20 albums but not ECOTD.
The strings and brass tonight were from Trinity College, as used for Plagiarism night. Whereas, for Indiscreet, I think they used members of that night's support band, didn't they? |
Yep, you're right about the albums, but it was same players for Swing and Looks as at Indiscreet. Looks Looks Looks absolutely killed last night, whereas I thought they got lost a bit during the Indiscreet performance, and the brass missed a couple of cues. But never mind. It was a privilege to be there and see them do it in the first place.
| rileyrempel wrote: |
Only problem was that her stereo is a bit boomy, so I totally missed what Russell said about Looks Aren't Everything...could someone tell me?
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He just said that it was recorded during Indiscreet with Tony Visconti and that it was never released until the recent reissue.
Oh, and in case anyone else missed it, Russell's T-shirt that he wore in the encore said 'I'm not a genius, but Ron Mael is' above a picture of Ron's head. |
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Andy Whelan
Power Groupie
Joined: 14 Jan 2002
Posts: 340
Location: London
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:01 am Post subject: |
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| T.N.K. wrote: | | The sound was terrible in the venue, from the centre front, left front and right front. |
I agree - I was standing stage left near the front during the first half, and had a great view. But it sounded like the "everything louder than everything else" approach had been adopted, and there was a fair bit of booming and distortion.
As I result I moved back for the second half, centre stage in front of the sound desk. The sound was very much better from there, but:
| binaryRooster wrote: | | Not sure why the Shepherds Bush Empire stage is so low |
it meant that I could not see anything like as well. I don't think they have raised the stage since they took out the seats downstairs. I suspect they can't raise the stage as the people in the top tier would have their view obstructed by the lighting rig.
In view of this it's never been one of my favourite London venues. Finding somewhere with good sound, a good view and a good atmosphere is difficult. Still, this isn't Sparks's fault, except perhaps for choosing the venue in the first place - I think it's a place that looks great for a gig from the band's perspective, but is perhaps not so great for the crowd.
I was only downstairs anyway because, as a golden ticket holder, I was not allowed upstairs, from where Mrs Whelan had a great view from the third row of seats. Still, it was party time downstairs, so I'm not complaining.
As for the show (back to that...), I thought the performance of the new album was excellent. I've been going to quite a few gigs (!) since the album was released, so I'm not that familiar with the songs, but highlights for me were Lighten Up, Morrissey (surely a single there) and Photoshop (great keyboard work from Ron!).
Not sure about some of the conceptualisation though - what were the shopping trolleys at the beginning all about?
As for the second half, they'd clearly decided on songs more suited to a conventional band set-up, so no synth stuff unfortunately. It was great though, and I thought the performances of Looks, Looks, Looks and Change in particular were far better than at Islington.
The huge ovations Ron and Russell were getting from the crowd clearly touched them, and I'm sure this is not the last we'll hear of the back-catalogue stuff despite the burning of the 20 previous album covers. I certainly hope not.
I still can't believe it's finished, although the final night in Islington actually felt a bit more like the end, and this felt more like the beginning again - I'm sure we'll see more of the stage show for Exotic Creatures...
It's simply been a privilege to be a part of it all. |
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Thermaland
Junior Groupie
Joined: 05 Dec 2002
Posts: 40
Location: London
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 6:19 am Post subject: |
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| unprinted wrote: | | I wasn't expecting it, so when Ron tested the keyboard when they came out for the second encore, I recognised the sound and went 'noooo, are they?' and then they did! |
Same reaction there! To be honest I'd be perfectly happy for them not to play it. It's a great tune but they have plenty of other great tunes. I was happier to hear Whippings and Apologies.
| Girl With Everything wrote: | | Ron and Russell are masters of the big gesture but I'm not quite sure why the burning of the albums was so moving. Flames always make for alarming imagery of course - think of burning books or flags. I think I became emotional partly because this wonderful adventure was nearly over but also seeing all those familiar iconic covers one after the other was like seeing my whole life flash in front of me. It made me realise just how many hours of enjoyment I've had from all that music. |
Every show at the Academy (except the last 2 which had their own special animation) ended with the album sleeve in flames on the screen overhead. It was a way or ritually closing this once-in-a-lifetime experience I guess. I thought it was fantastic. |
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MrMonte
Power Groupie
Joined: 16 Nov 2006
Posts: 416
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:10 am Post subject: Re: Mark beat me to it again... |
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[quote="Noisy Boy"][quote="sjadey"] | Noisy Boy wrote: |
Oh, and in case anyone else missed it, Russell's T-shirt that he wore in the encore said 'I'm not a genius, but Ron Mael is' above a picture of Ron's head. |
How, I ask how, in the world can someone get that T-Shirt!!!
:)
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Check out my new YouTube show all about Sparks and their fans! It's at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QvkUP_P9O0&ab_channel=MonteMallin - thanks! |
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Thermaland
Junior Groupie
Joined: 05 Dec 2002
Posts: 40
Location: London
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:12 am Post subject: |
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| Wasn't it a present from someone in the audience? |
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Eve
Sparkologist
Joined: 20 Mar 2002
Posts: 615
Location: England
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 7:58 am Post subject: |
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The t-shirt - that was from me 
Great show, yes the sound for the 1st half was bass heavy but I expect that when I'm standing centre stage, I've been to gigs where the sound is much better towards the back of the hall, you make your choice, I was happy with mine.
Wonderful show, feels weird that I/we won't be doing this again for a while. I've met some great people. Saying thank you for the 100th time doesn't come close to expressing it. |
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Billy Stevens
Sparks Guru
Joined: 23 Oct 2002
Posts: 2447
Location: London UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 8:24 am Post subject: |
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And where do we send our orders to EVE?
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TommyGun
Sub-Deity
Joined: 26 Sep 2006
Posts: 1170
Location: germany
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 8:57 am Post subject: |
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has anyone seen cameras? was it filmed?
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Spyke
Sparks Guru
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 2399
Location: Brum, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:40 am Post subject: |
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I though I saw cameras by the steps on either side.
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Spyke
Sparks Guru
Joined: 28 Jun 2003
Posts: 2399
Location: Brum, UK
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 9:45 am Post subject: |
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What a great show! I always prefer gigs where obscure album tracks and b-sides are played, so I was over the moon with the second half. Highlights - Lighten Up, Morrissey, Katherine Hepburn, Big Boy and Goofing Off (although I still think this could be played even better live in future, especially if they hire a fiddle player). It's been a great month, and the band should be really proud of their energy and enthusiasm to pull off such a bonkers idea in such a grand way. They've certainly earned a rest, but what will they plan after that...?
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"but we can hear what others can't hear..." |
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Physicality
Sparkologist
Joined: 20 Jan 2006
Posts: 541
Location: Dublin
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| Posted: Sat Jun 14, 2008 10:17 am Post subject: |
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| Any videos yet? |
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