Independent live review

Sparks, Academy, Glasgow By David Pollock Published: 15 February 2006 For those not schooled in the output of the skewed-pop outfit Sparks, the initial reaction on seeing their live show might be to wonder, “Is this a joke?”. On the other hand, everyone else present here – generally middle-aged males – seems to be taking things deadly seriously. Both opinions are equally acceptable. The sight of keyboard player Ron Mael’s trademark toothbrush moustache quivering as he stands to attention on stage like a repressed doorman – while his singing brother Russell skips gaily around him – is enough to remind you that the brothers are certainly having a laugh. What’s worth remembering, however, is that Sparks are one of history’s pioneering electronic bands, and that their tongue-in-cheek presence never was cheap gimmickry. The have a sense of humour, of course, but it’s a smart and self-effacing inversion of themselves and their very status. All that comes allied with a catalogue of sometimes very great songs. For this latest comeback tour in support of their 20th album, Hello Young Lovers, the Los Angelino brothers have split their set into two hour-long segments. The first is an unabridged live version of the new album; the second, a greatest-hits set. Playing before a stage-mounted video screen showing specially designed interactive clips – leading to the odd and surreally hilarious sight of Ron playing crashing guitar power chords before huge vibrating speaker stacks – Sparks reveal that their music in 2006 is a leftfield, club-friendly procession of lyrically simple mantras. The presence of a sharp but slightly functional full band far from spoils things, but it does ground Sparks in a reality you’d rather they were above inhabiting – if Ron were to conjure pre-programmed symphonies with a flourish of his index finger, their efficient image would be complete. But his swirling keys added an air of gloriously camp effervescence to the perennial “The Number One Song in Heaven” and “When Do I Get to Sing ‘My Way’?”. That “This Town Ain’t Big Enough for Both of Us” received an ovation was no surprise; a theatrical closing double of “Suburban Homeboy” and “Change” was rather more so. That the fans don’t get tired of hearing the same gag told a differently testifies to the fact that it must be a good one. Sparks play The Lowry, Salford Quays, tonight; De Montfort Hall, Leicester, tomorrow; and London Forum on Saturday