Sparks reclaimed Los Angeles last Saturday night. Didn't you hear?
Fuzzy camera phone photo courtesy of Johnny's LGV.Nearly 25 years after their "Valley Girl" soundtrack/KROQ heyday, Sparks played the Avalon to a highly appreciative, age-diverse crowd. It was the Mael Brothers' first U.S. show in quite awhile and the first with a full band since the 80s, I believe.
I have to admit, I was a little worried when I heard beforehand that they'd be playing the new album, "Hello Young Lovers" from start to finish in its entirety, followed by a "selection of songs" from their other 19 (!!) albums. Any fears disappeared once I saw the hilarious screen projections for each song, accompanied with Ron's choreographed moves - at different points, he had a fist fight with his on-screen double, tossed aside metaphors that dropped from the sky during "Metaphors" and during "Rock, Rock, Rock", posed with a flying V in front of stacks:
Number of guitars actually featured in this song? Zero.My personal fave of the new songs performed had to be
"Here Kitty", complete with adorable kittens in three-piece suits providing backing vocals.
This photo is as fuzzy as the kittens.The second set was the best, though, as the band went thru about thirty years worth of material, touching on all phases of Sparks' long career. Here's the set, from memory:
Hello Young Lovers - including:
Dick Around
Perfume
The Very Next Fight
(Baby Baby) Can I Invade Your Country
Rock, Rock, Rock
Metaphor
Waterproof
Here Kitty
There's No Such Thing As Aliens
As I Sit to Play the Organ At the Notre Dame Cathedral
break
Happy Hunting Ground
Amateur Hour
I Predict
Bon Voyage
Hospitality On Parade
In The Future
Music That You Can Dance To
This Town Ain't Big Enough for the Both of Us
The Number One Song In Heaven
Never Turn Your Back on Mother Earth
Suburban Homeboy
ENCORE:
How Do I Get to Carnegie Hall?
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