Sparkler
Main Event 2003 at Copenhagen University
12. September 2003

Sparkler played one of their last concerts on the Magnifying Glass Tour 2003 at Copenhagen University. It was feast called Main Event 2003 to welcome the new students. Freya had kindly put me on the guest list to this closed concert and I had got a permission from the University to cover the event on camera. This concert turned out to be the best Sparkler concert I've ever attended!
I do not know if it's because Freya and the band are now so practised after the many live jobs during Summer, or they just got inspired by the very entusialtic audience present at the feast. But the fact is that they played so tight together and Freya seemed really to enjoy being at stage, so it was a pleasure to see.
I have never seen Freya so relaxed and acting so natually in front of an audience. She was often smiling and we saw her even dance during breaks and bridges in the music, and she seemed to be much delighted. I must say that Sparkler has improved as a live band since I heard their debut live performance last Autumn! Luckily Lazy Days is permanently back on the set. Together with You Belong To Me and You Don't Notice, it's my favorite Sparkler LIVE-song. Mr. Pete and Listen Once were taken off the set list, - the latter much to my surprise, as it was permanently on the live set from the very beginning. I didn't miss the Rolling Stone cover, Wild Horses, but luckily Bob Dylan's Like A Rolling Stone is now steadyly on the set, though rarely written on the set lists. Rune sings it brilliantly with his deep voice, with Freya on the choir.

According to the set list, Sparkler had planned to give I'm Fine as the encore song, but they changed it spontaniously right before entering the stage for the last song of the performance. As the audience demanded for a party show, we got Tiger again! Freya has a strange rutine to give reprises of songs already played on the set. I do not understand why, as she has so many songs from her back catalogue to pick from. I would have loved to hear Stupid Liar, Little Miss, Mother, Mr. Opposite, Princess of Butterflies or Why fake It in hard rock versions. But we got Tiger once again. This night it was ok though, as we got a nice up-tempo version of the hit song, played with much more energy than the first version!

We also got a lot of good solid rock'n roll, and Freya has loosened up as a stage performer. She's not so stiff as in the early days. It really suits her, to let loose on stage! I should like so see her go totally crazy on stage some day! Tonight we saw a touch of it, as Freya hurled her tambourine against the stage-floor after the closing encore. More of that! What an excellent performance by Sparkler we witnessed this beautiful summer night!

 01. Stop
02.
Lazy Days
03. Tiger
04. I See Stars
05. Total Control
06. Magnifying Glass Fool For You
07. Talkin ' bout A Revolution (Tracy Chapman)
08. Someone Else To Dig
09. You Belong To Me
10. Fool For You
11. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob Dylan)
12. Why Should I Worry
13. You Don't Notice
- - Encore- -
14. Tiger (Reprise)
 

 

 

 


 

 
   

 

 

 

 

 
   
   
 

 

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

 


Freya looks almost like Britney Spears on this ;-)

 

 

 


Dedicated Sparkler fans Anita and Mette (front left)

 

 
   
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

 

 

 

 
   

 

 

 

 

 
The set list handwritten by Freya. Notice that Tiger
has been put in between Lazy Days and I See Stars
 
The set list handwritten by Rune. Both have I'm Fine
as the encore. Actually they played a reprise of Tiger

 

Photo by Eric Klitgaard © 2003

 

Back to main