Exclusive: The Sparrows @ The Ding Dong Lounge

By Sean Lynch
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Click Here To Listen To Songs from The Sparrows latest EP

CLICK HERE to check out tunes from The Sparrows's latest self-titled EP.

Melbourne's Ding Dong Lounge is fast becoming one of the best Saturday night gig venues for quality up and coming bands. In fact, some of my favourite bands of the last few years have all found my ears on a Friday or Saturday night down 18 Market Lane (just off Bourke Street). From Liam Finn's Betchadupa to Sydney's supreme pop rock act The Red Riders and now The Sparrows.

Having copped quite a bit of flack within the music community over the past year or so (due in part to a close band connection to uber-manager Glen Wheatley and an unaturally quick signing to a major label in Sony BMG) The Sparrows have a lot to prove. Not only must they demonstrate their worth as a viable Major Label band, they must also prove themselves as a band that is more than a pet project of "Daddy's son". And if their Saturday night gig is anything to go by - The Sparrows are well on their way to blasting their critics out of the water once and for all.

From the very first chord of the balls to the wall rock track "Heroin Boy" band members Michael Badger (Vocals/Guitar) Tim Wheatley (Bass/Vocals) Danny Spencer (Guitar/Vocals) and the manic drumming of former The Pictures member, Brett Wolfenden, had the crowd on their feet. Several tracks, taken from their upcoming LP seemed to channel Oasis, while others were laced with generous lashings of 60s inspired guitar and a good dose of harmony loaded rock-pop jingles.

I first saw The Sparrows a few months earlier, when they were one of the support acts for British India (a band which have yet to live up to their hype). Their easily accessible tunes, along with some energetic stage precence from Badger and the amazingly energetic Wolfenden certainly stood out, causing many to retreat from the bar much earlier than expected. In fact, if I recall correctly - British India were well and truly upstaged, with the crowd never quite reaching the energy level that The Sparrows seemed to inject into the still sober punters.

Low and behold, no more than a year later, the boys were now headlining the night, proving that they are very much a band on the rise. Add to this the news that Aussie superband INXS have announced The Sparrows as their support act for the upcoming Australian tour - and it's almost time for all those nay sayers to well and truly to put their tail between their legs and take a long walk back to where ever they came from.

Set-List: 3 out of 5 
With a reletively limited catalouge of songs, The Sparrows seemed to do rather well packing the rather short 45 minute set with enough burst of energy. Some tracks are eerily similar to some of Oasis' lesser known album tracks, but one can only imagine that with time these guys have the potential to create some real classic rock tracks.

Lighting & Visual: 2 out of 5
The Ding Dong Lounge isn't exactly the visual extraveganza that many venues pride themselves on. However, it is one of the best venues in terms of sound and general crowd / audience vibes, which definatley was present. Possibly the best place to see a band next to a packed Corner Hotel.

Overall: 70%