Hundred Reasons

“WAKE UP!! Can you hear me?!” Yelps Jim Ward on the excellent 'Cut Your Ribbon', taken, like most of the songs tonight from Sparta’s debut album, the criminally overlooked 'Wiretap Scars'.

Even though they are fantastic tonight in their own right, they start the race with their laces tied by the lingering ghost of At The Drive-In, with people currently name-checking them as “Sparta: with the three guys who used to be in ATDI” etc, Then there are the inevitable unhelpful shouts for 'One Armed Scissor'

But this is not a rehash of old ideas or an attempt to resurrect a dead baby - The only tenuous comparison to ATDI is the remaining concern that the band have for the crowd- with reminders to “take care of yourselves out there”. They thunder through album highlights 'Collapse' and 'Red Alibi' with Jim Ward, all gnashing teeth and unnerving smiles, seeming to finish the gig a few lbs lighter than when they first took to the stage, as he sweats out every lyric and verse.

“Parents are no longer smarter than their children, that’s where the fear lies… and it’s been a long time coming” - Marilyn Manson, interviewed in 'American Heretics'

… And all the smart kids love Hundred Reasons.

From the moment they take to the stage right until the very last note of the encore, the place goes absolutely mental, like Ritalin gas has been filtered in through the basement to greet the noses of a thousand mixed up kids who are now literally bouncing off the walls, and each other, in frenzy of arms, legs and total abandon.

HR* play most of the tracks from *'Ideas Above Our Station' including live favourites 'Silver' and 'If I Could' plus a couple of newies- 'Lullaby For The Gullible' and 'My Sympathy'. And everyone loves it, a universal sense of agreement that they are one of the best things on the British emo (cringe) / rock scene at the moment - lets just hope we’ve got the energy to sustain the reign.