Alan Sparhawk – Opium – Live Review
by Killian Laher

Alan Sparhawk – 2/11/24 @ Opium, Dublin

There was a strange, concerned atmosphere in Opium for the first visit of Alan Sparhawk to Dublin since the passing of Mimi Parker.  Probably accentuated by his recent, batshit wacky solo album.

Support came from My Brightest Diamond, with singer Shara Nova playing solo.  Opening by playing Sinead O’Connor’s legendary 1992 speech where she tore up the picture of John Paul II, it set the tone for Fight the Real Terror.  She bashed her guitar while warbling through the songs, using her laptop for beats on Rocket In My Pocket.  Her at times bizarre theatrics and semi-operatic singing was well-received, and her set finished with an understated I Have Never Loved Someone.

Sparhawk came on stage with son Cyrus on bass and the dungaree-clad duo proceeded to render Can U Hear, I Made This Beat and Get Still from the solo album.  Unfortunately, Alan Sparhawk placed the helium/autotune effect on his vocals over some bone-shaking beats, while dancing around the stage disconcertingly.

Just when you began to despair, Sparhawk grabbed his guitar, playing Heaven, Screaming Song and Get High with a Crazy Horse-style guitar crunch.  There were many new songs, all displaying his great guitar work.  One saw him sing a sinister tune about “when Jesus comes back all you motherfuckers gonna pay”, and another, the desperately sad Don’t Take Your Light Out of Me, during which it was hard not to think of the late Mimi Parker.

The pair returned for an encore of Princess Road Surgery and the recent Low song White Horses, played without the noise of the recorded version.  It was a strange set, most definitely a concert of two, seemingly disparate halves.  It’s clear that whatever happens next, Alan Sparhawk won’t be taking the easy road.