PRINTConcert recap: Stars
Stars dazzle The Blue Note with melodica and flashing LED rings
Photos by Abbey Dean
Canadian sextet Stars brought its elaborate indie pop to The Blue Note.
October 7, 2012 | 12:20 p.m. CST
Seasoned pros Stars know how to put on a good show. Last night at The Blue Note, the band’s success was driven by frontman Torquil Campbell and leading lady Amy Millan’s crooning duet, impulsive dance moves and a flair for audience interaction.
A Montreal-based indie sextet, Stars’ repertoire of music offers a spread of pop and rock tunes with sweeping melodies.
If you like moody, melancholic harmonies with poppy overtones, Stars have a song for you. If you’re into sweet, good old fashioned ballads with a dash of electric piano, Stars has a song for you. Or if you’re into the melodica, Torquil Campbell is the man you’ve been looking for.
It was also obvious that these entertainers love the stage. Taking notice, the audience took their cue from the band and followed suit throughout the show.
When the band said dance, the audience proceeded to shimmy and romp around the stage. When Campbell and Millan crooned an intimate duet, the crowd obediently canoodled with the person nearest to them.
There was even a bit of moshing, although noticeably more considerate moshing, as it was to an indie-pop rockish band from Canada.
All in all, Stars is a happy bunch of cool, trendy musicians with a lust for dancing offbeat and tossing LED rings at the audience. It was an endearing experience that was never too rock and never too staid, but a offered a pleasing balance that left the crowd pleading for more.
Stars concluded with an encore and everyone left The Blue Note satisfied and — if they were lucky — with a flashing ring.
