Sparks Live : The Hippopotamus Tour

I went to see Sparks perform in Manchester last Friday night to promote their new album. Whilst the album hasn't grabbed me as much as I'd have liked the show was fantastic. This is the third time I've seen them live and frankly the best. Russell still has the energy of a man half his age and Ron is just incredibly funny.

The songs, as performed live, sounded even better than their original album versions. I was totally blown away by "When Do I Get To Sing My Way".....which was the first Sparks song I ever heard back in 94 on Mtv. "Number One Song In Heaven", "Johnny Delusional", "Sherlock Holmes" and "This Town Aint Big Enough For The Both Of Us" where all fantastic. There was a nice mix of old and new stuff. Hearing the tracks performed live off the new album has made me appreciate them a lot more.

My only grumble was that there wasn't any sort of souvenir book or program for sale. I bought one when I saw them tour with "Lil Beethoven" and "Hello Young Lovers" so was disappointed there wasn't one for this show. I was also gutted that the only signing event they did was at 7.30pm in London. I'd love to have met them.

Has anybody else been to see the show? If so what did you think? Also what did you think of the new album too?

 

There's a lot of live discussion in the dedicated album thread. The Berlin gig two weeks ago was terrific, one of the best concerts I've ever seen. My girlfriend even dragged her boss along - who probably only was familiar with "When Do I Get To Sing My Way" - and she loved it too.

The merch was very nice with signed vinyl, a "Hippopotamus" jigsaw and "Kimono My House" anniversary fans. Amongst other stuff.

 

Ah, I must have missed that......newby mistake. I went with a bunch of friends who had a casual appreciation of them. They absolutely loved it too, one of them bought the album "Exotic Creatures Of The Deep" afterwards. When I told people in work I'd been to see them they all said the same thing "Sparks, are they still going?" but where all impressed when I showed them footage from the show.

My first experience of Sparks was seeing the video for "When Do I Get To Sing My Way" on Mtv back in 1994. I had no idea who they where, I presumed they were another dance band from Europe, but absolutely loved the song. It wasn't until years later that I discovered their back catalogue and really appreciated them. When they performed that song live it sounded so good it almost moved me to tears.

I didn't end up getting anything from the merch booth. I had all the CDs on sale and I know the other things would just gather dust on a shelf. I was disappointed there was no souvenir book though.

 

In Berlin they had a lyric book. Not necessarily a programme but a book. I got the signed vinyl and was intrigued to find out later it was actually the picture disc version. That they sold signed stuff at all was a nice touch.

 

I'm glad I saw this post, I just bought a ticket for their late show in San Francisco.

 

You'll have an absolute ball. I envy you, I'd love to see them again.

 

I'm listening to Hippopotamus now on my Echo and I love it so far. I noticed the Japanese CD has a bonus track, were they selling this import at the show?

 

Apparently they added 'When I'm With You', 'Life With The Macbeths' and 'Nicotina' to the set in London. Sad to have missed that.

 

I didn't see that being sold at the show at the UK. I think they had a picture vinyl of it but that was all I saw. They only had the later albums on sale (and Gratuitous Sax) which I was a bit disappointed about as I'm still missing some
of the 80s albums.

I heard they added a couple more songs to the setlist. I'll have to check out YouTube and see if anyone's caught these.

 

Great record. Not normally a Sparks fan although I completely understand why people have liked them for so long but Hippo is pretty fantastic. I wish I had been a little more proactive and caught them on this tour, they look absolutely brilliant, great energy that you just don't see that often lately. I can't get the album out of my head, it has a certain sound about it that's infectious. One of the best of the year for sure. If they do record the show, count me in for a copy.

 

Was that the redesigned cover "Collection" version of Gratuitous Sax? I passed on that when it was $10 and now the only guy with it on Discogs wants $40 for it.

 

Bump. For anyone ever interested in XTC style pop, this record is well worth your time. They really "nutted" it with this. Very glad it's getting recognition in some fairly serious music journals, well deserved.

 

Of course, this album recieved very little attention in the US. Hopefully, that doesn't mean we won't get a few dates.

 

We did! Saw them two nights in a row in New York in October 2017. One of the best shows I'd ever been to, honestly.

 

That song really should have been a massive hit single, it is just so great.
I have a theory that most artists have a great lost single, and 'When Do I Get To Sing My Way' is Sparks one.

 

It was # 7 here in Germany, not too bad...

 

Yes I remember that, Germany seem to really love great pop songs.
In the uk it only reached the mid 30's despite receiving healthy radio play as I remember. It was then re released and once again only reached the mid 30's. The video was fantastic as well.
I thought the album was one of their best also...

 

a rerun of their berlin concert broadcast from last year is on arte.tv tonight:

Berlin Live: Sparks | ARTE Concert

 

They’re supporting Beck in Bournemouth in May.

 

Anyone can do much, much worse than to see this band live. Few put in as much effort as these guys do. They are about performing and entertaining, from the quirky songs to the stellar performance that infuse anyone in the audience with such good feelings.......they deserve to be mammoth just for their enthusiasm for performing. They are taking a terrific band on the road with them, try and catch them..............and Hippopotamus is terrific front to back. If you're in the UK and Western Europe you're lucky.......they're hitting the O2 circuit in May in the UK. Do try and see them, they deserve the support of anyone who just likes good ol' pop music.