Jenny's Coming After You - A Stellastarr* Review
There are two components in the music world that have begun to become very stale to me lately; post-rock and Brooklyn-based bands. While both have gained notice and some credibility, they also have become worn and weary to my ears. While post-rock bands such as The Album Leaf and Talk Talk now sound all the same, the majority of Brooklyn bands such as Dirty Projectors and The Antlers have been overplayed and over hyped all over the internet and within the five boroughs. However, there is hope for both genres, thanks to Stellastarr*. The band performed a great set at Highline Ballroom on July 16th, and proved that there are still bands in these specific genres that deserve the hype.
Opening for the quarter were The Postmarks and Wild Light, and the results were hit-and-slightly-mediocre. The Postmarks have been hyped as one of the acts to follow in 2009 by many credible sources such as Spin, Pitchfork, and Stereogum, and have even been featured in an episode in the popular Nick Jr. show, Yo Gabba Gabba! It comes as no surprise that this threesome didn’t disappoint. Performing an eight-song set, the band managed to get the small-but-growing hyped for the acts to follow using a combination of popish keyboards and strong, powerful guitars. As for the talented vocalist Tim Yehezkely, my friend summarized her sound as a “female Ian Curtis”.
While I personally enjoyed Wild Light for shallow reasons (their tight jeans were sexy! and oh, look at that guitarist’s sleeve tattoos!), their music was atypical pop rock. The band was clearly talented, seeing how three of the four switched off with playing the guitar, bass, and keyboards during their thirty-minute set. However, this did not redeem them from how much every song sounded the same, in terms of instrumentals and lyrics. This set taught me a lesson that sometimes hotness does not always equal quality work.
Stellastarr* recordings’ don’t do them justice. Their music comes alive from the moment the first guitar string is strummed. Consisting of vocalist Shawn Christensen, guitarist Michael Jurin, bassist Amanda Tannen, and drummer Arthur Kremer, the band outdid my wildest expectations of how I imagined them being live. The band performed a majority of their latest album, Civilized, and a handful of their greatest hits, including My Coco and closing with my personal favorite, Jenny, where Christensen also managed to belt the final verses while sprawled on the floor. Jurin was also on floor for a few songs, and it seemed it was practically second nature. Their actions seemed like they would get the crowd rowdy and excited, but the nature of the crowd seemed more relaxed that amped. There were the hardcore fans that belted every verse of every song and danced their arses off, but a good majority of the crowd stood there, bobbing their heads with beer in hand. I imagined the crowd being a little more rowdy, since this was their hometown show. Still, I’m glad I didn’t have to uppercut a touchy-feely drunkard.
Hometown shows are usually supposed to make nights to remember, where nothing could go wrong. Or…things go wrong, and fans are too overwhelmed to notice. In terms of this Stellastarr* show, I walked out impacted, and yet a bit disappointed. I blame Wild Lights’ tight pants and the crowd’s stubborn attitude towards dancing for this slighty ajar feeling in my heart. Stella didn’t disappoint, though. Instead, they rekindled and reignited my heart for them, and I desire more material stat.
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