27 February 2006

i saw stars

with ck one at webster hall on saturday. (is this why they nixed the "the"? and again, naming yourself something like "stars" makes a google search more difficult. you're only hurting yourselves.)

i have to admit, when torquil campbell came out and said something about a "fuck off rock show" i was more than a little skeptical. had these guys even listened to their own album? i'm not even sure i would have categorized it as rock. but they certainly proved me the hell wrong.

stars are one of the most energetic and mezmerizing live bands i've seen, and it's made all the better by the fact that so many of their songs are full of swooning bubbles of emopop. as much as your heart blushed the first time you listened to some of the songs, hearing them do it live and unabashedly singing along made me bounce uncontrollably for quite a while.

they did a nice mix of tunes, some off "set yourself on fire" (reunion, your ex-lover is dead, ageless beauty, one more night) and some off their earlier albums (which i'm not terribly familiar with). i was also very impressed with the crowd, who really got into the vibe.

so there you have it, stars are way better live than you think they might be.

NB: magnet opened. one dude looping himself and playing heavily radiohead-influenced electrock. not so much. i felt sad for him, because he was having a real hard time getting the audience to perk up. kept saying "i'm up here all by myself". but i think if you're gonna perform that kind of stuff all by yourself, you should stick to: come out on stage, sit your ass down, play your shit, stand up, bow, leave. you can't have it both ways.

speaking of bands i love live, here is the video for the russian futurist's single "paul simon". it's a fun time.


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