Live Review: Sam Sparro at The Standard, Surry Hills

BBM’s Jim Palmer headed on down to watch Sam Sparrow at The Standard last Friday…and here’s what went down.

Having spent all day imagining how great it would be if he was Sam the Sparrow – a tiny, feathered electro-crooner – rather than a guy with a pencil moustache who had a moderately successful hit a few years ago, I wasn’t expecting much.

But with infectious energy, tunes catchier than a bout of Gastric flu in fresher’s week, and a band tighter than junkie’s tourniquet, Sam Sparro wowed an intimate audience at a homecoming gig at the Standard in Surry Hills.

The venue is not what you would expect from one of Sydney’s few famous musical sons, with only a few hundred able to cram in to what was essentially a warm up gig for his set at Homebake the next day.

Pay attention or you will miss The Standard: an anonymous door tucked in between behemoth bars just off Oxford Street.
But entering that door and taking off up the stairs on Friday night was like entering Narnia, or Wonderland, or a portal to the 80s or something.

Upstairs, there is a cool bar with exposed wood, an enticing balcony and a soundtrack of 90s Hip Hop to get you in the mood.

The gig area above that is sparse to say the least: a black room, small stage, none-too-lavish bar and only enough room for around 300 people.

But boy did the lad from Sydney own it.

If your only exposure to Sam Sparro is ‘Black and Gold’, you may well expect the music to come from laptops and other electronic jiggery pokery.

Not so, he came with a proper band – saxophonist, two backing singers, drummer, keyboardist and a mean bass player not afraid to slap the strings.

The band was slick too, rarely stopping to catch their breath between tracks.

The sound was curious and possibly unexpected if you haven’t heard the rest of Sparro’s oeuvre.

It was very 80s, Funk and Soul inspired. Sparro, backed up by two excellent vocalists, had the pipes to pull it off and the energy to get the crowd dancing, although it does feel a little like a slightly less ostentatious, slightly less talented Prince.

But that is not a horrible criticism; Prince is Prince, after all.

A dedicated collection of fans loved every second and, despite not knowing any of the songs, I found it hard not to smile and dance. Seriously, the rhythm will get you.

Of course, ‘Black and Gold’ came near the end of the set and Sparro – mercifully not showing any sign of being sick of his meal ticket – raised the energy even further with adrenaline-fuelled dancing, which spread through the room like funky osmosis.

By Jim Palmer

Check out our interview with Sam Sparro

Check out the BBM Dance Music Podcast Featuring So Called Scumbags.