As any fan of Jim Ward’s rock trio Sparta or his former band At the Drive-In can attest, the guitarist/vocalist almost always keeps his stage banter to a minimum when performing in concert. He appeared to stick to his tradition during Sparta’s Friday night concert at Neurolux in Boise – until the last 10 minutes of the show.
After only uttering a brief “thanks” once or twice during the first dozen songs of the set, Ward paused at the mic stand before embarking upon the next tune.
Paraphrasing Ward’s words, he meekly said, “I want to address something,” to a captive crowd that was clearly unsure what he would utter next. “I grew up in a town in West Texas where, if you didn’t go to college, you were [essentially destined to a miserable life]. I wanted to see the world, so I did everything I could to join a band. I did, and I saw the world. I was able to do that in America, but I’m not sure I could have in other countries.”
He continued, starting to get emotional as he said, “I love America.” He remarked that he wished he had brought the Texas state flag on tour to have onstage while Sparta performed their set. “Texans are independent. We are the only state that can secede from the country.”
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