(G) Stars @ Avalon, Hollywood (Feb. 11) Grade: A
Montreal’s Stars know all about that pain. So much so that they composed music to it and have built a catalog based upon it. For those happy couples looking for a pre-Valentine’s Day concert to attend Saturday, this Avalon show wasn’t exactly the place to be...
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Do you ever sit in your car and sing along theatrically to your stereo when you think no one is looking? You might sing upbeat pop songs or dance rock, but it’s the melancholy songs about regret and sorrow that you find yourself singing to the loudest. It’s the comforting noise to your own inner pain.
Montreal’s Stars know all about that pain. So much so that they composed music to it and have built a catalog based upon it. For those happy couples looking for a pre-Valentine’s Day concert to attend Saturday, this Avalon show wasn’t exactly the place to be. Consider Stars’ songs entitled “Your Ex-Lover is Dead” and “One More Night (Your Ex-Lover Remains Dead)”—just in case you didn’t get the point. The band might have built a following based on the former single’s recent popularity (thank you O.C.), but Stars delighted long-time fans as well by performing such older tracks as “The Comeback” and “Life Effect.” Singer Torquil Campbell even dedicated “Elevator Love Letter” to those who have been with the band since 2002.
Of course the night didn’t cater solely to those with bruised egos and broken hearts. Stars varied the set list with their more upbeat tunes (“Ageless Beauty,” “Reunion”) and touched on the band’s politics (“He Lied About Death”). Singers Campbell and Amy Millan also were visually entertaining, both deeply engrossed in each song as they danced and clapped along.
Set Yourself On Fire’s stand-out tracks, “Ex-Lover” and “Calendar Girl,” were saved for the end, setting a suitable mood for the show’s conclusion. Sadly, “Ex-Lover” was performed sans the album introduction. Who doesn’t love imitating the baritone voice asking, “If there’s nothing left to burn, you must set yourself on fire”? “Calendar” shined the spotlight on Millan, who mediates her rock-and-roll image with her sweetly feminine vocals.
The night with Stars was warm, poignant and as “rock” as Campbell promised it would be. However, there was an oversight: For the broken-hearted, sticky tape was not available at the merch booth. And neither were matches.
Sounds like a show I would have enjoyed. The guy singer in the band... his dad is the voice for the “If there’s nothing left to burn, you must set yourself on fire”. Apparently he's a stage actor here in L.A. I love that part of the cd.
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