Everyone in the loop know what Sparks can do. They’re a genre-fluid duo with backing musicians just as keen to explore all those new styles. Sparks is hard to pin down decades on from their debut album and when they pull from the likes of MAD! and The Girl is Crying in Her Latte for their York Barbican performance, you get a little closer in understanding how hard it is to stay in the mainstream for so long. Ron and Russell Mael showcase not just their ongoing relevancy as two pop innovators, but cement themselves as legends of the stage. Their recently released Live on the Moon album gives a taste of those talents, but you need to see it in person if you can. Years trying to pin down a press pass for Sparks, succeeding many times but being out of the country, comes to a head here. A show well worth waiting for, especially thanks to those new songs that let the band breathe a little better than their hits.
Many hits, too. A passing Sparks fan may think they only know a few, but from start to finish the show is packed full of hits. Old and new favourites dominate the 19-song setlist, and they paint a vivid picture of what Sparks can do, who they are, and why they still do it. Every song manages to punch deep into the heart of the Barbican crowd, a collection of people in great form and loving every second of opening song, So May We Start. The Annette track serves as a perfect opener and it’s hard to think of how else Sparks could open a show, like Start Me Up for The Rolling Stones. A few words of thanks from Russell Mael, a chance to figure out what those from Yorkshire call themselves (an inconclusive result by the sounds of it), and a chance to observe the band at their best. The pair are still in phenomenal form, with Russell’s voice as strong as ever.
Ron Mael’s stage presence remains eerie but friendly, the facade not having slipped but growing into this tongue-in-cheek seriousness that comes to pass on Let’s Get Funky when he takes on lead vocal duties. That deadpan delivery is nicely placed in the set, just before Sparks launch into a string of hits like Music That You Can Dance To and The Number One Song in Heaven. A tinnitus-riddled ear means the names of that trio serving the instrumental section of Sparks is lost, but they did one hell of a job in bringing these songs to life. Every song had an energy to it that has been exorcised from the album and worked harder than ever before. Russell Mael’s energy on stage, often getting the audience to clap along to songs without the easiest time signature or tempo to follow, is the work of a true craftsman. A veteran of the stage who clearly still loves what he does.
Reserving The Girl is Crying in Her Latte is a great move. It’s always a sound idea to have another hit in your back pocket as you look to close out the show. Dedicated fans will appreciate hearing the more leftfield choices of more recent single JanSport Backpack – which sounds much better live than on Mad! – and (Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country, a song that has cropped up in Sparks’ set for the first time in nearly a decade. Its connotations are obvious and on the nose, but it never loses that danceable charm that keeps Sparks thriving as a touring unit. One of the best live experiences you’ll find. Sparks has shifted gear in the last few years. They appear to be riding a wave of relevancy which comes when you find a new generation to appreciate you. It’s what happens at The Barbican, and it’ll happen again should the innovative brothers decide to keep working.
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