Sparks to bring 'Two Hands, One Mouth' tour to Hollywood Forever

By Randy Lewis

Feb. 25, 2013 12 AM PT

This post has been updated. See note below for details.

Eccentrically innovative Los Angeles art-rock duo Sparks (a.k.a. brothers Ron and Russell Mael) will play a hometown show April 16, bringing their new stripped-down stage show, “Two Hands, One Mouth,” to the Masonic Temple at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The concert falls between the two weekends they’ll also be playing at Coachella.

Sparks last performed in L.A. in 2011, not in a traditional concert setting for a semi-staged presentation of their “film-to-be” music-theater piece “The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman” as part of the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Last year the Mael brothers did a string of shows in Europe without the usual support they’ve had live over the years from a band. Sparks in its current form constitutes just Ron Mael at the keyboards, with no programmed computer assistance, and singer Russell Mael at the microphone.

“It seems like an eternity since we last played for our hometown fans,” the Maels said in a statement. “Sandwiched between our two Coachella performances, these shows will give everyone in L.A. a chance to see and hear our two hands and one mouth without binoculars, long bathroom lines or sunscreen, and in a full-length form.”

After Coachella the Maels plan to play additional U.S. shows.

The Quietus praised the European tour as “a feat of stamina and courage and brilliance,” while the Independent in London included the show in its list of Top 5 Gigs of 2012, and said, “In any sane universe, Sparks are big. It’s pop that got small.”

Information on the Hollywood Forever show is available at Sparks’ official website or its Facebook page.

Updated at 11:17 p.m.: An earlier version of this post identified the tour as “Two Hands, One Voice.” It is “Two Hands, One Mouth.”

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The brothers Mael concoct ‘The Seduction of Ingmar Bergman’

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Follow Randy Lewis on Twitter: @RandyLewis2