Sparkadia, Oh Mercy, HotLittle Hands @ The GovernorHindmarsh, Adelaide (18/10/08)

Fri 24th Oct, 2008 in Gig Reviews

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Unfortunately in the world of music, there are some bands that just don’t quite bring what they bottle in a ripper of an LP to their live shows. And I hate to say it, but Sydney trio Sparkadia is one of them.

The night started off quite promising. It was a warm evening at The Governor Hindmarsh, and the crowd turnout was quite healthy and drinks were flowing steadily. First up for the night was JJJ Unearthed Winners Oh Mercy, not to be confused with Mercy Arms. The mosh may have been a little grisly during their set, with most people opting to sit in the beer garden to escape the swathing humidity of the band room, but they put on a good show nonetheless.

Next up we had second support act for the night Melbourne quintet Hot Little Hands. This is a band I can only describe as paradoxical. I’m going to make a wild exaggeration here – they looked like the cast of Dawson’s Creek playing indie grind music. You had your Pacey on bass in a snug-fitting red ESPRIT jumper circa 1990, your Dawson as the lead singer and the weirdo, girl-next-door on keyboard as Joey.

Regardless of whether I was the only one that picked up on this, at a glance no-one wouldn’t have expected it when they dished out heavy rock music. And I wasn’t expecting it either when it turned out to be damn good. Though they played mostly heavy indie, their music had a lick of industrial to it. Songs like Easy Way Out, for example, had the same dirty edge and trip-hop drumming quirk as a distant Nine Inch Nails. An excellent show, particularly thanks their vocalist Tim whose husky drawls provided the silver lining to their tunes. Perhaps the only negative was the part where their keyboardist started to do a bizarre burlesque dance, which was just uncomfortable to watch.

After a quiet entrance to stage, it was now time for Sparkadia to knock our socks off. And to be fair, they did – in the first four songs at least. It was afterwards that it turned into a slow trickle.

Choosing to play their set with a raw backdrop, stripping the stage of is projector screen and fancy props, all eyes were on the band. The night began with a drawn out instrumental jam, before launching into the ever so happy-go-lucky Morning Light. With vocalist Rabone’s highly pitched mantras teamed with a guitar melody so up beat it could spew rainbows, it made for an obvious choice for a set opener. Following suit was then Kiss of Death, before the show segued into another second poppy number Too Much To Do.

It was around the fourth song that Sparkadia, after reeling in their fans with their upbeat numbers, began to shed their buoyant demeanour to hit some of their deeper tones, like the haunting Our Own Way. Rabone, his face suitably pocked with beads of sweat, had stopped his grooving and now stood quite still in front of the mic to wolf howl his way through Our Own Way’s falsettos. Though the drop in tempo certainly stilled the bouncing of the doting fans below, you had to admit the man could hold his pitch.

Although Our Own Way’s had raised the hair on our skins, their continuation of the slower, more ethereal tracks made the crowd buzz just, well, die. This was disappointing, given Sparkadia’s JJJ circulation and hype that has followed suit. The rest of the show could have put me to sleep, and by mid-set the mosh had become utterly devoid of movement. Although a last minute plug of Animals did perk things up a bit, perhaps this was just your classic case of a band using all their big guns too early.

Sparkadia, tonight you lacked the spark.

CHECK OUT ALL THE PHOTOS HERE