Sparks
The Independent, San Francisco, CA
April 9, 2004

V and i went to see Sparks at the Independent (formerly the Justice League) in SF last Friday. I dropped Veronica off then spent thirty minutes looking for parking, finally rendez-vous-ing with her inside. She was already significantly peeved at the collection of bozos assembled to relive their glory years through Sparks. They were also, i might add, the worst smelling collection of showgoers i've ever encountered. Sparks came on around 10:40pm and played their latest album Lil' Beethoven straight through. Not my cup o' tea. The lyrics of the first song repeated "I am the rhythm thief, say goodbye to the beat, oh no, where did the groove go?" ad nauseum. Other repetitive and pseudo-witty song concepts included "Why are all these bands so angry?" and "How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, man, practice!" They took a short interval and came back for a more conventional set comprised of their past hits, including "Mickey Mouse", "Cool Places", and "Number One Song In Heaven". Despite my penchant for new wave, Sparks have never really been on my radar. Their show didn't do much to change that. Other than the fact that a chorus of "I am the rhythm thief, say goodbye to the beat" is now echoing incessantly through my head. I also didn't know that Robert Crumb played keyboards for Sparks. That guy scares the s@$t out of me.

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