SPARKS

KaelMael · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 8:16 am Post subject: Sparks in Shibuya, July 22nd

The Japan tour has started with an amazing show last night.

The first show was at Duo Music Exchange, a venue of around 700 capacity in Shibuya which had been produced by Jamiroquai's Jay Kay. Despite the superb sound, this venue is notorious for having two thick pillars that block the view. Once you got inside, all you have to do is avoid the pillars and find the right place. I managed to secure my position at left-ish center. The stage was close enough to see Russell's sweat on his face clearly.

Just as Sparks hopped onto the stage and the audience's excitement grew, something outrageous happened. A guy far behind me suddenly pushed his way through the crowd to get closer to the stage. All I could see at this point was his head. I was appalled. What's more disgusting was that he stood behind a girl who was in front of me so close he almost grabbed her shoulders. She must have felt terrified.
To my relief (and other's annoyance), he made his way further and got out of my sight.

Anyway, I didn't check the setlist from the previous shows because I wanted a big surprise this time. I looked up afterwards and learned that The Toughest Girl In Town and Escalator are added back to the setlist.
I got emotional when I heard The Toughest Girl In Town. This song has a special place in my heart. Stevie's drum solo took it to the next level. To me, this was the highlight of the night.

Nothing Is As Good... was very good. Great song for live performance. I couldn't stop myself from smirking when they played We Go Dancing, on the day NK launched another missile that morning. Beaver O'Lindy was another highlight. It was a gratifying experience shouting "B, E, A, V, E, R, O, L, I, N, D, Y" along with the crowd. I'm glad to hear Balls and Bon Voyage too.

An hour and a half of sheer happiness. The Covid restriction had been eased since the last time they performed in Japan, so there are a lot of maskless faces including myself. Can you believe we had to shut our mouth during the show last year? I guess the Mael brothers was also happy to see those affectionate fans whooping and smiling.

Thank you so much and good luck for the rest of the Japan tour!

Setlist:
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/sparks/2023/duo-music-exchange-tokyo-japan-3a4a963.html
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My resume is dull and it's gray

waterloosunset · Posted: Sun Jul 23, 2023 1:39 pm Post subject:

KaelMael, thank you for your up close and personal review of the first show in Tokyo. I had seen some video of the performance and thought about the poor souls stuck behind the pillars. I wonder what the last venue will be like. This tour has been amazingly successful, it seems.
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better drop the requirement that everything be great

KaelMael · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 5:42 pm Post subject:

waterloosunset · Posted: Mon Jul 24, 2023 10:17 pm Post subject:

I'm very envious that they did A Love Song last night. They did it at the beginning of the tour, but it was never performed once in the U.S.
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better drop the requirement that everything be great

KaelMael · Posted: Tue Jul 25, 2023 7:22 am Post subject: