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03/29 - Saskatoon, SK - Odeon
03/30 - Calgary, AB - Mac Hall 03/31 - Edmonton, AB - Winspear 04/02 - Nelson, BC - The Royal 04/03 - Kelowna, BC - Kelowna Community Centre 04/05 - Victoria, BC - Alix Goolden 04/06 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore 04/06 - Vancouver, BC - Commodore Read More Stars just announced their massive 2013 World Tour, but before we get to them, I thought it would be fun to re-visit the first time I saw the band - at the 400 Bar in Minneapolis on March 14, 2005.
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Stars w/Milo Greene and Said the Whale
First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
26 March 2013
The three band bill began the evening with Vancouver five-piece Said the Whale, who brought their Pacific Northwest song stylings as a nice appetizer for the two other bands to come. The band was very grateful to be on tour with Stars, and certainly grateful that their dedicated fans showed up early to see them.
They started off their brief set with some songs I didn't recognize, but still enjoyed the amusing song with the "don't tell my mother" lyrics… but as expected, they did some songs from their latest Little Mountains, such as "Big Sky, MT" (about co-singer Ben Worcester's grandfather) and "The Light Is You", however, I thought it was great that they played "Love Is Art/Sleep Through Fire" which is from a compilation album called Catherine North Demos.
Milo Greene, a Los Angeles-based cinematic pop quintet with four lead singers, took the stage next to a very warm welcome. Kicking off with "Cutty Love" and followed by "Silent Way", the band played a solid set of rising melody songs that had the crowd moving and smiling.
Perfectly suited to soundtracks or cruising top down the Pacific Coast Highway, the quintet named for their fictitious booking agent, thanked the crowd for the strong reception they've received every time they've played in town, and capped their set with the single that is everywhere, "1957".
After a brief intermission, the stage screen rose to the sounds of Aretha Franklin's 'Who's Zoomin' Who" and each member of the Montreal indie-pop band Stars danced their way into position, surrounded on stage corners by large glittering disco balls.
Leaning heavily on songs from their sixth and most recent album, The North, they opened with the uptempo 'Theory of Relativity', featuring the distinctive male/female interplay vocals of Amy Millan and Tor Campbell driving the song, immediately engaging the audience.
Before the title track, 'The North' was played, Campbell referred to it as a 'good Minnesota song' and his MN roots were further defined when he let the audience know that his parents first met when both worked together at the nearby Guthrie Theater. 'Backlines' and 'We Don't Want Your Body' turned the beat up and invited dancing, or at least shuffling in place, as the full floor didn't leave much elbow room for expression.
Tempo turned downbeat for a purposely depressing 'Personal', prefaced by a very appropriate snippet from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' 'Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken', for those that were paying attention and knew the band's influences. Millan introduced the new narrative song, 'Wishful' about the loss of virginity in another slower song that kept the crowd listening.
As the band went into 'Dead Hearts' from the mixed reviewed 'The Five Ghosts', I realized that Stars are one of those unique bands that can successfully move from playing a sullen, eloquent torch song, to a throbbing disco beat stomper that exudes positivity, the next. They are literally only one chorus tweak away from achieving airplay volume a newer indie-pop band with similar vocals like Of Monsters and Men currently gets (if that's what they want).
Their 95 min set crescendo'd with a feverish 'Take Me to the Riot', again prefaced by a brief obscure lyric snippet; this time from The Smiths' "Frankly Mr. Shankly", a band they've covered more than once.
Before embarking on the three-song encore, Campbell mentioned how his dad would have been happy to hear the gracious reception given by the First Avenue crowd and teased the band might take a request and play a version of 'Call Me Maybe', but instead launched into 'Midnight Coward' and the rousing 'Your Ex-Lover is Dead' culminating in the crowd singing the end verse acapella.
All but two band members were then seated along the drum kit for their final song, 'The 400'. Tor Campbell emoted every lyric, ending the song with microphone down, using the projective power of his natural voice, to carry those last words across a hushed and awed audience.
The audio on this evening was both great and challenged - while phasing of drum sounds and guitar squelches into right/left speakers was impressive, both lead vocals seemed a little buried in the mix, at least from my location. Stars is both a veteran band with pristine vocals and sonics, and a band that still remains fresh and changing thirteen years on, and insists you listen at whatever new music they put out next.
First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
26 March 2013
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SAID THE WHALE
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They started off their brief set with some songs I didn't recognize, but still enjoyed the amusing song with the "don't tell my mother" lyrics… but as expected, they did some songs from their latest Little Mountains, such as "Big Sky, MT" (about co-singer Ben Worcester's grandfather) and "The Light Is You", however, I thought it was great that they played "Love Is Art/Sleep Through Fire" which is from a compilation album called Catherine North Demos.
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MILO GREENE
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Perfectly suited to soundtracks or cruising top down the Pacific Coast Highway, the quintet named for their fictitious booking agent, thanked the crowd for the strong reception they've received every time they've played in town, and capped their set with the single that is everywhere, "1957".
After a brief intermission, the stage screen rose to the sounds of Aretha Franklin's 'Who's Zoomin' Who" and each member of the Montreal indie-pop band Stars danced their way into position, surrounded on stage corners by large glittering disco balls.
Leaning heavily on songs from their sixth and most recent album, The North, they opened with the uptempo 'Theory of Relativity', featuring the distinctive male/female interplay vocals of Amy Millan and Tor Campbell driving the song, immediately engaging the audience.
Before the title track, 'The North' was played, Campbell referred to it as a 'good Minnesota song' and his MN roots were further defined when he let the audience know that his parents first met when both worked together at the nearby Guthrie Theater. 'Backlines' and 'We Don't Want Your Body' turned the beat up and invited dancing, or at least shuffling in place, as the full floor didn't leave much elbow room for expression.
Tempo turned downbeat for a purposely depressing 'Personal', prefaced by a very appropriate snippet from Lloyd Cole and the Commotions' 'Are You Ready to Be Heartbroken', for those that were paying attention and knew the band's influences. Millan introduced the new narrative song, 'Wishful' about the loss of virginity in another slower song that kept the crowd listening.
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STARS
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Their 95 min set crescendo'd with a feverish 'Take Me to the Riot', again prefaced by a brief obscure lyric snippet; this time from The Smiths' "Frankly Mr. Shankly", a band they've covered more than once.
tell me how I sleep, tell me how I dream
Playing to their largest area audience to date, the main set ended with the crashing 'Walls', Campbell pleading "tell me how I sleep, tell me how I dream", as band members left their instruments and stage one by one.
Before embarking on the three-song encore, Campbell mentioned how his dad would have been happy to hear the gracious reception given by the First Avenue crowd and teased the band might take a request and play a version of 'Call Me Maybe', but instead launched into 'Midnight Coward' and the rousing 'Your Ex-Lover is Dead' culminating in the crowd singing the end verse acapella.
All but two band members were then seated along the drum kit for their final song, 'The 400'. Tor Campbell emoted every lyric, ending the song with microphone down, using the projective power of his natural voice, to carry those last words across a hushed and awed audience.
The audio on this evening was both great and challenged - while phasing of drum sounds and guitar squelches into right/left speakers was impressive, both lead vocals seemed a little buried in the mix, at least from my location. Stars is both a veteran band with pristine vocals and sonics, and a band that still remains fresh and changing thirteen years on, and insists you listen at whatever new music they put out next.
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Stars at First Avenue, Minneapolis (03/26/13) |
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