Dazzling Sparklehorse

On Thursday evening I attended the Sparklehorse concert at Richard's on Richards in Vancouver and one thing is certain: Sparklehorse is one peculiar fellow.

After opening act Jesse Sykes took the stage and played an okay but ultimately forgettable batch of songs sans guitar (he played the keyboard and the three female band members played various string instruments), the Sparklehorse crew meticulously took 40 minutes to set up his/their gear. He must be an extremely particular individual. Likely M & Ms backstage too.

However, it was certainly worth the wait to see this American Man of Mystery. Throughout his entertaining set of moody, sometimes rockin' numbers, Sparklehorse reproduced the myriad subtleties found on his records and even employed two adjacent microphones - you might be able to see them in the photo - to replicate the distorted vocals.

The crowd interaction was minimal with Sparklehorse saying "thank you" a few times. Before saying "thank you" he always looked surprised to see people in front of him, as though he forgot he was playing live music. He really gave the impression that he lives in his head.

One other minor oddity to note: the encore. Encores are typically two to three songs, but Sparklehorse come out for a single song. Whether this was planned or decided on the spot, I'll never know. Likely the latter.

Despite all the unusualness, he really knows what he is doing.

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