Stars Live and in Review

As promised (and since so many of you are reading and caring), a review for the Stars show that occured in town on April 9th, 2005 at the Amigo's cantina, and also a bonus link that I stumbled across today for an in-studio appearance at KCRW to promote their new album being released in the States.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the show was probably one of the best I've ever seen. I would definitely put it in my top five...no, top three shows of all time - no contest. Their stage presence was so much stronger than I had anticipated considering so many of their songs are low key 'get-lightheaded and swoony' kinda of tracks. I was expecting a bunch of people standing politely in front of the stage bobbing their heads, gazing at their navels and soaking up the sounds.

I should have realised that the stronger sounding album would require a different kind of set-up, and likely lead to a brassier performance from the band. As Torq (the lead singer) said at the KCRW session, the punchier sound of 'Set Yourself on Fire' allowed them to perform on stage in a more traditional "four on the floor" kind of way (or five or six as is the case with Stars) and the audience really responded to it. About a half-dozen songs into their set, Torq thanked the audience for "making them feel like they were in a fucking punker band." The setting was pretty intimate so the band was really feeding off of the energy the crowd was giving out, and the crowd, in turn, fed off of them. It was one of those experiences that are just great to see and be a part of.

They played mostly songs from their previous album, 'Heart', and the newst offering, 'Set Yourself on Fire', but a song or two from their debut CD, 'Nightsongs', managed to squeeze themselves in there. Actually, the show made me dust off my copy of 'Nightsongs' and I've sort of come to rediscover it. It's still not their best album, but it's right in there.

It was also great to see members of the other two bands, Montag and Apostle of Hustle, come out and join Stars as the show prgressed. By the end of the concert, there was probably a dozen people on and off the stage playing some sort of instrument or percussion piece - it was a real ensemble effort.

As all great live shows should, it has totally enhanced the studio experience for me. Their CD's will never sound the same to me again, they'll sound even better. It was the first time I'd had a chance to see Stars live, but after last week, I'm never missing another one of their shows.

Now, here's a link to their in-studio appearance at KCRW. It's not their greatest performance, but you'll get an idea for what kind of stuff they do and how they sound live. If the video is too much for you, here's an audio link of the show. Both are Real media.

I highly recommend checking these guys out. I've made it something of a mission to get everyone I know to at least listen to these guys, so if you're in that category you owe it to yourself.

mike