Going into Saturday night’s sold out Stars show the 9:30 Club I had mixed expectations, mainly, I’m not fond of the Canadian indie pop outfit’s new album – In Our Bedroom After the War. Maybe it’s a grower? Also, I had never seen the band before but heard good things about the live show. I’ll just go ahead and throw it out there -- I wasn’t totally wowed.
Fellow BYT contributor Ben accompanied me to the show and proceeded to inform me that he’d let Amy Millan poop on him, but that’s other commentary for another day. We also missed Australian opener New Buffalo because we were across town at the Rock and Roll Hotel sucking down champagne and purchasing awesome wares at Styleistics.
Anyway, Torquil, Amy and company opened what seemed like a relatively short set (although it apparently was nearly 90 minutes) with “Take Me To The Riot.” Engaging from the beginning with lights and smoke, Stars didn't seem to click with the crowd until about three or four songs in. Also, they had nearly enough smoke and lights to rival British Sea Power’s show the night before at the Black Cat.
A good mix of old and new, they performed much of the new album, including “The Night Starts Here,” but still kept in the old staples, “One More Night,” “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” and of course, “Ageless Beauty.”
Amy’s voice was strong, but a lot of it seemed like I was just listening to the CD in a room full of people with a light show, so even though it obviously sounded good. The performance lacked flourishes and a lot of heart. They rocked it, and the crowd got into it, but again, not completely won over.
Oh, and in case you missed it, Joel (http://www.kingpinphoto.com/) took some amazing photos (of both New Buffalo and Stars) you see here and NPR.org has the concert up for your audio pleasure.
(http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15298176)
Previously in Live DC:
- 5/24: LiveDC: The Adicts @ RNR Hotel
- 5/24: LiveDC: The Donkeys @ Black Cat
- 5/23: LiveDC: The Barr Brothers w/ Kishi Bashi @ The Hamilton
- 5/23: LiveDC: Damien Jurado @ Black Cat
- 5/23: Report: Soundbites 2012
- 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
- 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
- 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
- 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
- 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
God loves a cheerful giver.
It was a great! show indeed.
I think I had a concertgasm.
TMI, Ben.
P.S. I wasn't at the Stars show, but the BSP show did indeed rule.
Hey, whatever - Amy is the hotness.
The show was solid and the setlist was great, but live variance was lacking overall. Given how bad the new record was, this show could've been *much* worse.
I've seen Stars twice at the Cat and been kinda bored both times...
alright dues, i gotta a cock-sized bone to pick with you all. you go to see Stars, they dedicate a song to my band Washington Social Club, and u guys don't even mention it!!
and for the love of Ted Nugent, this review is so freaking blase! Stars is a band that you either love or don't. You either really identify with them or you don't. this just isn't a band that's going to convince you live, most of their fans are already convinced. now Queens of the Stone Age, there's a band that'll convince you with their live show....
1. This was a review of the band's performance, not any irrelevant sidenotes. Check your ego at the door. That's likely a pretty small bone to pick in both regards.
2. Who made you music Jesus? I didn't know you could just pluck out how thousands of people feel about a band by simply saying "you love them or you don't." It's just one person presenting an opinion, which you're more than free to disagree with, but you can't merely "trump" an opinion simply because it belongs to you. If you're going to make a sweeping generalization, at least support it a little bit. Why do you think people have a "love em / hate em" feeling about the band?
i don't know. i'm on the fence about them.
i'm hung like jesus, so at least you got that part right.
stars are a 'singles' band, which means they have really good songs, each of which can sit on its own. (as opposed to an 'album band' or a 'live band'. these things aren't mutually exclusive by the way).
so, if you don't go to a Stars show already in love with the songs, as I would or a lot of people at the show did, you're not going to be blown away by the live performance, it's good, it's solid, but again, (i wasn't kidding about the Queens thing) they're not that band.
the problem reallly though Ben is this: Hype. when people go see a band they've only heard about they have the tendency to place the bar really high.. if it's not a religious experience than they feel, betrayed/let down. that's a function of an overly obsessed media culture. people end up resenting bands for the experience not being for them what it was for other people.
but they DID dedicate "Look Up" essentially to me and my band, so you know what, i'm just going to declare myself an expert on this one.
and as far as my ego goes, I'll quote the band in question: "when there is nothing left to burn you have to set yourself on fire".
I have never seen Stars live (the 2006 Cat show sold out and I didn't feel like pulling any strings that particular day and last Saturday was Styleistics) so while I think we are maybe never meant to be "in person" I will say that "Reunion" makes me feel happy and sad and tingly and all good every time I hear it.
And that is enough for me.
So here is a shitty youtube video of the magic that that song is:
I have to agree that Stars probably aren't a band that will win you over live if you don't love them (or like them a lot) already. I have, however, found that they have one of the most dedicated fanbases and these people typically make up the majority of the audience, so a good time is usually had by all. However, one thing I never expected to hear is that Stars lack heart; of all things to say about them, I'd never think of this.
> However, one thing I never expected to hear is that Stars lack heart; of all things to say about them, I’d never think of this.
Stars rocked the house. If you don't like them after one or two performances, stop coming to their shows. The sense I get here is of uber hipsters who must exploit every show that comes to our village as opportunities to showcase their egos and little sidestories.
At least the pictures are pretty.
Wow, were we all at the same show? I don't have any Stars' albums, but know the singles, so I figured, what the hey?, an early show as a precursor to my night of boozing! They completely won me over. And I like bands you can really shake it to, so I went into this one figuring there was a good chance I would be bored. I was pleasantly surprised.
I though Torquil was doing a spot-on Morrissey for a few of the songs, and Amy was channeling Cerys Matthews towards the end for sure. They were really tight. The instrumentation was cool. The Ghost of Genova Heights gave me chills. Color me impressed. That is all.