SPARKS

[Toughest Girl In Town]

I was just checking the Salle Pleyel website for directions, and I saw that Sam Sauvage will be the supporting act for next Monday's show. I remember Russell mentioned him in an interview with some French journalist lately:

[Crabby]

I quite like the Sam Sauvage 'Les gens qui dansent'...video and apparently Russell does too!
I heard him say in a recent recent radio interview that Sam Sauvage could throw some good moves and had a great head of hair which is all a front man really needs.....😂

(That should be quite a combination in Paris, l hope Sam enjoys working with Sparks!)

[Toughest Girl In Town]

I also enjoyed "Les gens qui dansent", it has a really interesting electro sound.
I hope the show will set a nice mood for the evening!

[Toughest Girl In Town]

[Crabby]

Ha ha......l actually listened to that interview Toughest Girl in Town (my French is basic to say the least)but my ears did manage to decipher the words Rita Mitsouko.....and that was about it....😂

[Brightonian]

Good & lucky for Paris!

Having a (decent) support act was something I really missed with the UK shows this time around ... remember how great Mr B The Gentleman Rhymer was for the TGICIHL shows a couple of years' back?

Sparks are surely in a position now where they don't need to cut corners, compared to where they might have had to in the past ... it would be great in future* if they showcased artists they love with support slots.

(* I make no presumptions about future tours ... if Ron and Russell call it a day after the current tour and thereafter just do limited special shows or concentrate all their energies on recording, I'd be more than happy with that ....... I've not suggested quit altogether, because I don't think that's part of their creative DNA).

[Crabby]

So the Sparks clips from the Paris concert look wonderful (of course) but interested to hear how the Sam Sauvage set was received....

[Toughest Girl In Town]

I'll shortly put together a full review of both shows here, there's so much I want to say and I need to write it now while it's still fresh in my mind!
But I had an excellent evening and the show went far beyond my expectations, I think it was even better than the one I saw 2 years ago for the Latte tour.

[Crabby]

Wonderful.. Looking forward to your review TGIT.....

[Crabby]

For some reason when l see the Sam Sauvage video l'm reminded of a young Dylan Moran.......

[Toughest Girl In Town]

Warning: massive spoilers ahead, please do not read if you don't want any details about the show and the tour.

Here it is!

***

Date: June 30th, 2025
Venue: Salle Pleyel, Paris, France

My patience has finally been rewarded: I saw Sparks live in Paris once again, 2 years after the Latte tour and 1 month after their visit to the FNAC record store in Paris for an interview + Q&A session. This time I knew what to expect so I braced myself for a very joyful but also very emotional ride. And let me tell you guys, I wasn't disappointed at all! I'm still quite impressed by what I saw actually.
Just like 2 years ago, I bought my ticket as soon as it went on sale (fanclub pre-sale to be precise) and I took a look at the setlist immediately after it was published by some fans online (for those who remember, I hate surprises!). I was all set for the big day.

As you probably know, this was a very hot day in France. I wasn't only worried about myself but also about the boys: thankfully the theatre had a perfectly functioning AC to keep our lads cool in both senses of the word.
Despite the crushing heat outside, people looked all very happy to be there and I saw many Sparks t-shirts everywhere, including mine of course :)

I was a bit disappointed to be seated so far away from the stage, since I probably was one of the 1st customers to purchase my ticket for this concert. I knew what this meant: all the people seating in front of me surely had invitations. And I was right, I actually saw famous French journalists just in front of me, and Leos Carax was there too (which made perfect sense, we all know how much of a Sparks fan he is). I only hope those journalists are great fans as well so they enjoyed the (much better) view they had... All of them showed up during the 20mn break between the 2 shows, and in my opinion, they missed out.

Sam Sauvage was chosen to do the opening act at 8pm, and I'm not sure this was planned very much in advance, because I only found out last week. Sounds like a last-minute decision, and I think it was a good one.
When I first heard Russell speaking about him, of course I got curious a couple of months ago (like many of you I'm sure) and I actually enjoyed what I heard at the time. Not necessarily my thing in terms of style, but this young man surely has a very distinctive talent and has a lot to offer. First of all, he writes all his songs, and puts a lot of heart and soul when singing/playing them. His setlist was very diverse with fun, emotional or even dramatic songs. Just like everyone else there, "Les gens qui dansent" was my favourite, but he had a couple of other songs that were very interesting. I remember that one about his grandfather he sang and played beautifully on the keyboard "Mon grand-père à moi", and another one called "Un cri dans le Métro" where he impersonates an angry, depressed homeless man in the Parisian Métro. It was a very intense performance, I loved it. I also remember that song "Pas bourré" that starts with the lyrics "Je suis pas bourré, je fais semblant" (I'm not drunk, I'm just pretending)... Doesn't that ring a bell? :)
He sounded very happy to be there, confessed he felt "honored and privileged" (or something like that) to be there, opening for a band he loves since he's 15. That was pretty touching. I may not become a mega-huge fan for now, but I appreciate the creativity and the real talent he has. I'm sure he's got a bright future ahead and I hope he gets the recognition he deserves.

As I said earlier, we had a 20-minute break before my boys hit the stage. They started the show with a very energetic version of "So May We Start?" after a short greeting; I can only imagine all the emotions Leos Carax went through at this very moment... I know he must've heard it a thousand times, but maybe this one felt a little bit more emotional. To me, it definitely was. Not gonna lie, I was so excited to see them that I wept like a teenage fangirl for 5mns straight!
Overall, the sound was great and we could hear every musician very clearly, which was very enjoyable. I also paid attention to Ron's part on the keyboard that sounded over-simplified compared to their last tour, but since they used backing tracks on some songs it wasn't a problem at all musically speaking. I only hope he doesn't push himself too hard... Of course he was happy to be there, everyone could tell by the huge smile on his face, but he definitely looked very tired as well. I confess his famous signature move on "N°1 In Heaven" made me feel a little bit uncomfortable because of that. He didn't speak much, except for the spoken version of "Suburban Homeboy" (obviously), that was such a great moment.
On the other hand, little brother "bouncy" Russell kept singing and dancing for nearly 2 hours without even looking tired. He's over 2 decades older than me, although I wouldn't be able to do the tenth of what he did. I also think his singing was even better than before, he could reach the highest notes without any effort (or so it seemed). As expected, he spoke French throughout the show as he did for the past couple of months each time he spoke to a French journalist. To this day, I still think Ron understands far more French than he pretends, he kept nodding and smiling always at the right moments each time! You're not fooling anyone, Ron
Their musicians were brilliant too, the backing vocals they did were just perfectly adjusted to Russell's singing, perfectly in tune and not too loud. Everyone on stage deserved to be praised, especially on that day with such a hot weather outside (but thank goodness the theatre had AC).
All the songs from the original setlist were played in order, and I loved each one of them. "Goofing Off" was such a great moment, for some reason this song always makes me a bit emotional (those Slavic vibes are just beautiful) and I was so glad to see it live, it's a perfect tune to sing along to with everyone there! I heard from a few fans on various social networks that "All You Ever Think About Is Sex" wasn't played for a couple of shows afterwards (with no replacement) and I feel sorry for all those who missed that one because it sounded great and many in the audience appreciated it a lot. All those who were seated -like I was- started to stand up from that moment to dance -like I did- until the end of the show! Everything went according to plan, well played, well sung, well performed... Once again, it was a wonderful show full of talent, wit, energy and love coming from both sides of the stage.
It took me several days to recover, both physically (because of the heatwave we went through in Paris) and emotionally (for obvious reasons!), and I have much respect/admiration for all those who did travel (sometimes really far from home) to see them more than once on this tour. The band is great of course, but I think the fans make it even better!

[Crabby]

Many thanks for posting TGIT...l was waiting!
Interesting to read about Sam Sauvage, l was wondering what he would be like. He does seem like something of a one off who does his own thing and isn't easily defined......l know another duo like that!
Glad you've recovered from the experience (l don't think l ever would..)

(I do get a bit grumpy when invited people shove paying customers out of the way but that's show business l suppose...)

[Toughest Girl In Town]

You see I had a lot to tell about the show:)

[Brightonian]

What a fabulous summary of the show ... thanks TGIT!

[Toughest Girl In Town]

[waterloosunset]

I loved reading your account, Tough Girl! You wrote to me privately at that other place that it was perhaps good that I wasn't in Paris for the show because it had been so hot there. Well.....I was at the show in Cologne the next night, where the temperature was about the same as it was in Paris, but the show was not in an air-conditioned space. It was in an old warehouse, where they shut the doors when Sparks hit the stage. Our list member Henry McHenry (who has many names in these here parts) will confirm just how awful it was in there. Russell, bless his tiggery little soul, hardly conceded to the evil heat. He might not have been so bouncy, but his voice sounded amazing and the show was excellent. He wore his suit until he took off the jacket and replaced it with the vest. I was actually quite concerned that he would pass out on the stage. It was a non-seated event, so I had to struggle to see. I had friends at the very front, and they felt like they were being suffocated. So Paris might have been a better option. I'm thinking of having a T-shirt made with Sparks' end-of-show photo and the words "I survived Köln" on it.
_________________
better drop the requirement that everything be great

[SteveBoyce]

I enjoyed reading about Paris too! Yes Köln must have been the next day. No wonder Ron looked tired.
Yes it was so hot (and humid with all those people), the t-shirt I was wearing wasn’t just wet afterwards, it was sodden, totally dripping wet, like I had gone swimming in it!