Sparta @ Leeds Festival 2002
By Andy RobertsSparta don't mind wasting a few minutes to get things really right before unleashing themselves on us. It adds frisson of excitement and expectation too, for the kids aren't eagerly awaiting just any old bunch of Texans. No, Sparta number the three afro-less chappies from At The Drive-In (Jim Ward on vocals and guitar, Tony Hajjar and Paul Hinojos). While their former band-mates have gone off on one as The Mars Volta, Sparta sure are getting on with delivering the soaring emo goods to healthy acclaim to those thronging the Evening Session Tent. Ripping through a set comprising ace choons from their 'Wiretap Scars' LP, Jim's got a kind of reedy voice at times and there's something ragged but pleasingly fluid about what they achieve. There is a nice dedication to One Hundred Reasons who they'll be back over to tour with in November. "If you come along you can have Paul's phone number", quips Jim to some over-smitten ladies in the crowd. If there's more sometimes shouty (like today's closer 'Air'), sometimes epic moments to come then that tour with the 'Reasons is gonna be some show...
