[Mael-list] just got back from heaven

[Derek Paice]

Just got in from the Cambridge gig and what a night!  Great show, great
audience.  It was a nice surprise to find that my Row F seat was actually in
the second row (I guess it's a Cambridge thing like the pronunciation of
Magdalen ;-) and I was sitting next to the ever charming Simon Majury who
introduced to Joanna from Sweden.

Hello Young Lovers was everything it promised and, as now customary, the
second half was stuff from the other 19 albums.  Considering that amounted
to Russell's estimate of about 250 songs we still had This Town, Amateur
Hour, Never Turn Your Back, Something for the Girl, When Do I get to Sing My
Way, Suburban Homeboy.  Time to rehabilitate some of the other oldies I
think.  We've never heard a lot of the 80s songs live and I think this band
would do a great job on them.  A real treat was Tryouts for the Human Race,
which worked well with the vox, keys, guitar, bass, drums quintet.  "Newest
Spark", Steven Nistor, on drums made a very welcome and powerful
contribution, although at times I felt a little nostalgic for Dinky
Diamond's more eccentric style on the older songs.  Still it was very nice
to have a drummer in the band who actually hits them sometimes.  With Dean
out of the way Josh now has one quarter of the stage in which to practise
his mad dancing while he plays. I don't know how he does it.  Although being
so close to the stage I couldn't really hear the guitar in the front of
house mix very well.  In-ear monitoring is all very well, but the audience
at the front loses the fill from not having monitor wedges spilling some
sound into the auditorium.  He broke a string and still played a stunning
solo without missing a beat.  He really knows his way round his instrument.
Steve McDonald was just ... well, he's settling in VERY nicely.

Russell was amazing as usual.  Given the heavy demands on his voice he is
standing up to it amazingly well.  Ron's voice almost disappeared during his
spoken piece in SH.  I should think they may be grateful for a rest when it
comes.  None of us is getting any younger.  Russell actually seemed to have
a senior moment when he informed the audience it was Sparks' first visit to
Cambridge.  I'm sure it was Sparks I saw in Cambridge over 30 years ago.  It
was the night they had to spend time reviving Adrian Fisher mid-way through
the set after he'd used up all his energy running around the stage and
playing his guitar in Ron's face.  I was standing at the back of the hall
with Joseph Fleury that night who declared that he didn't know what had got
into Adrian to make him behave like that.  Sadly, it turned out to be
several bottles of something thus precipitating his dismissal ... allegedly.
No such shenanigans tonight though and I shall put it down as one of the
best Sparks gigs I've been to.  I don't usually like the Cambridge Corn
Exchange, but sitting so close to the front made it all very intimate.  Ron
was so moved by the intimacy of the occasion that he slipped off the stage
and took his guitar into the auditorium during Rock, Rock, Rock.  A very
special memory.  I've never seen him do that before.

Foolishly I bought a programme (£10 is very expensive, chaps!).  It was the
same programme that went with the tour earlier in the year.  Bit of a swizz,
that.  The musicians are not the same.  We needed a supplementary
photocopied sheet of A4 to tell us that.  I did submit after the show and
buy a t-shirt, at £20.  Not really value for money, but I suppose it's
cheaper than a ticket to see the Rolling Stones, which I refused to buy.

Oh well, it's late.  I'm going to bed.

Good night and thanks again, Sparks, for another great evening.

derek