stellastarr* - Washington, D.C.
Location: Black Cat, Washington, D.C.
Author: Natalya Minkovsky
Photography: Natalya Minkovsky
Performing at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., on their first headlining U.S. tour, stellastarr* look more like rock stars that ever before. [Here’s the part where I disclose that I’ve seen them five times over the past year and a half.] It’s almost as if everyone is a slicker version of his or her former opening-band self. Bassist Amanda Tannen is blonder, and guitarist Michael Jurin’s black hair is freshly dyed as well. Singer/guitarist Shawn Christensen’s hair is perfectly styled to look perfectly disheveled. Only drummer Arthur Kremer looks unchanged, bare-chested with the star that punctuates the band’s name taped over one of his nipples. And while stellastarr* have never sounded like anything but rock ‘n’ roll superstars, their performance tonight is at its tightest and smoothest.
stellastarr* begin the sold-out show with the atmospheric “In the Walls,” the track that opens their self-titled debut album. After two more songs from the album comes “Underdressed,” a B-side from the “My Coco” single. The unfamiliar song blends well into the rest of the set without delving into sameness. In fact, although the band’s ’80s-new-wave-influenced body of work fits together perfectly both on the album and in concert, each song is instantly recognizable and distinctive.
Channeling The Cure’s Robert Smith, Christensen contrasts his deep singing voice with high-pitched yelps, while Tannen, a classically trained cellist, backs him up with both singing and yelps of her own. Their interaction draws comparisons to the Pixies, a band whose influence is evident throughout the performance. Tannen’s vocal contributions are so on-point that it seems only a matter of time before she pulls a Meg White and takes lead on one of the songs.
The audience is attentive, even during the long instrumental beginnings of the gentler songs like “Moongirl.” The instrumentals roam just enough to set the mood but never so much as to wander away from the audience. Whenever Christensen indicates that he’d like the audience to participate, like clapping along to “My Coco,” the concertgoers quickly comply.
The set ends with Christensen half-singing half-screaming the high-energy “Jenny,” the perfect choice to leave an audience wanting more. In contrast, the encore begins with a song that slowly builds to its emotional peak. The song is “On My Own,” which, according to the band’s Web site (www.stellastarr.com) is the most recent song written by stellastarr*. The band closes the show with the sing-along-inducing “Pulp Song.” With a chorus written in plural first person, it’s the kind of song that makes an audience feel one with the band as everyone sings, “we lied to you/we lied to make our point of view.”
Set list:
In the Walls
Homeland
No Weather
Underdressed
Somewhere Across Forever
A Million Reasons
My Coco
Moongirl
Jenny
Encore:
On My Own
Pulp Song
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Reader's Comments:
FRANK JOHNSON :: 03:06 Friday 26 AugGood service