What a strange night. The show, the music was great. The crowd and the vibe in the room, a little bizarre. Welcome to Vancouver on a Sunday night (oh no, I’m not bitter….).

Being a Sunday, and therefore a day that Richards doesn’t turn into a top-forty/hip-hop dance club after the live music finishes, the show was a bit later than most at this venue. But then again, it was a Sunday, so it was still a bit early, and people seemed to not really show up in droves as they well should have. Would the crowd have been beefier had the concert been on a Friday? Who knows. But stellastarr* has been through Vancouver two other times within the prior year, and it seemed like they had managed to generate a bit of a buzz.

I had been kicking about the venue for a few hours before showtime, chatting with the bands (interviews coming soon), and myself and the fellows from evening had just wandered back into the room about twenty minutes before their start time. I left them to prepare and sat out front with stellastarr*’s drummer, Arthur Kremer, and had a bit of a chat about the state of pop and radio music, based on the general schlock they were playing on the venue sound system. In a fit of dire frustration, Kremer suddenly leapt up, dashed out to the band’s van, grabbed some mix CD’s, and took over the sound system. It was a pleasurable change, and the conversation drifted more to the worthier artists of the times.

It didn’t take long before evening came out to the stage to begin a set. The room was dead silent, devoid of fanfare. There weren’t a lot of people there anyhow, and those that were mostly stood scattered about the back or upstairs, talking and drinking. I think most of them shut up pretty quick though. While still the only people who wandered to the floor were myself and some of the other band and crew members, evening managed to grasp the attention of the people in attendance. It’s hard to ignore them! This is not music that can fade into the background by any means. These guys stand out for a variety of reasons, but by golly, those tunes… there’s an array of digital doohickies on stage with them, including vocalist Matt Rist’s synths, set up in the middle of the stage. Five guys are packed on there around this central area, and I mean… wow. Way to be eloquent, I know. But they were instantly captivating. They have everything wrapped up to be indie darlings, that’s for sure. Whether or not mainstream media has any room for someone like them is another story, but success is not necessarily valued by such things.

They definitely look the part, both in physical properties, like their swank haircuts and slim, fashionable clothing, as well as how they move about the stage. Bassist Zach Brewer really stood out here - he’s got this jerky, robotic, spaced-out manner about him that just feels… right. Listen to some of the music and you’ll understand how fitting that might be. Rist has his face just about planted on his keys as he plays when he’s not busy with the microphone. And don’t get me started on guitarist Lee Burik’s moustache. What a slick-looking guy, slithering about his side of the stage. Other-side-of-stage guitarist Patrik Sklenar moves fluidly around his area of the floor, with an intensely-pleased look on his face. Brian Kim is tucked away behind his drums at the back, with a force of energy, dedicated to his kit. By all means, visually, they already win. So how about that music?

Well, let me tell ya. This is some cool shit. I’d heard a few songs off the band’s website before coming out, and was already quite hooked on its vibrancy, but live brought it to another level completely. You could feel the energy pouring off of them and filling the empty spaces in the room. Rist’s voice is incredible, raw and a little pinched-sounding, quivering while remaining strong. He shimmies around and spews his words outwards. This band has been through a lot in their various incarnations over the years. You can feel that in this music that they play, which has come very directly from their significant experiences, both good and bad, is intensely personal to them, important. They mean what they speak of. And they want us all to know about it too. It’s really nice to watch people who aren’t bored or not feeling their songs anymore. They felt genuine. There’s so much amazing instrumentation going on as well. Loud, booming drums and sudden, crackly noises. Pinging, dirty, distorted guitar notes twinkling out a moveable melody overtop of the subtle roar of the other guitar. A somehow ingenious and outstanding use of cymbals. Cymbals! Everything just gelled together so neatly. Some of the tunes are much more hauntingly dark, and some are quick and jarring. Some songs stun you by blending the two and knocking you awake at points.

The audience didn’t get ballsy enough to get onto the dance floor for these guys - perhaps they were all a bit startled and stunned by the creativity they were faced with - but the reception was warm, and I think the band graduated well to Richards. Let’s hope they make it back here soon and people get it.

Then we were faced with the Killers. I’d had a preview of this band a couple of hours before the show via a label rep, and that certainly whet my appetite. I was looking forward to this one. They fit into the nu-garage (or whatever people are calling the ever-slightly-evolving genre these days) movement, but have a distinct flair in their uppityness. Yeah, they’re alive. On stage, they’re pretty showy. Is this a result of their Las Vegas roots, or more just a reaction to the bored-as-shit frontmen that are kicking around a bit these days? Vocalist Brandon Flowers still pulls off the air of holier-than-thou rock n roll God, but he does it without being flippant and dull. He looks like he enjoys what he’s doing, likes being up there on stage controlling the crowd, and demands your undivided attention. “Hey, look at me, I’m the fucking singer,” he seems to imply in his edge-of-stage mannerisms. He keeps one foot on the monitors and leans into the audience (which had only barely moved forward at this point), sings with his hands a lot, leaps onto the side stage amps and carouses around like he owns the place. And he bloody well did at that moment.

The super standout song is the f(#@(*$^ cool “Somebody Told Me.” Sure, that’s a no-brainer. It appears to be a single of sorts (even though they haven’t officially released the album at all yet - there’s just an EP kicking about), they have a video for it. But man, is it ever a solid song. It tromps along so fluidly, even live. Overall, this is sexy music. They’ve got a bit of that slick, old-school 80’s vibe to them, mixed with a 70’s swagger. Yeah, they’re on the rise. Get them now so you can gloat that you were there first. They’re already blowing up in the UK, and if those clever, ahead-of-the-times British hipsters are into it, you know it’s on the way to the top. They bled the rock into the room, all interestingly, but Flowers definitely stole the show.

The room had more visibly filled up by the time the Killers finished up, and now people started to squeeze towards the front. Still, not nearly enough people for a show of this nature, but hey, Sunday… no excuse, except for in Vancouver it seems. The stragglers missed some top tunes, so it’s their loss really.

stellastarr* came out to a healthy reception. It seems there are finally people in the city recognizing their awesome talents. Purring about like a Cure/Morrissey hybrid if both had started up now instead of 20-odd years ago, they sloped through a catalogue of mostly songs from their self-titled disc which was released late last year. Singer and guitarist Shawn Christensen doesn’t say an awful lot between songs, but he doesn’t really need to. He comes off as a bit brooding on stage, which is appropriate considering the above references. He’ll hunch his shoulders up a bit as he sings voraciously, with a sultry and disaffected look on his face, and then he’ll be crouching or kneeling on the ground, staring at the stage floor and playing that guitar like crazy. His voice, though, is anything but disaffected. It’s a bit throaty, loud and distinct, with a tiny warble that gives it a ton of emotion. He’s complimented incredibly by bassist Amanda Tannen. She’s got a touching, sugar-sweet voice that twines itself around Christensen’s effortlessly, and sometimes even comes through to the forefront. She swings about on her edge of the stage, hiding behind the blonde hair that falls over her face. I recall during their encore, she suddenly became really alive and flung her plucking-arm back and forth while she played.

Behind all this is Kremer, who partway through the set, peeled off his shirt to reveal the signature stellastarr* asterisk duct-taped over his right nipple. This is obviously a tradition of theirs, as he’s done that every time I’ve seen them. They must go through a lot of duct tape. But holy hell, what a drummer. He impresses me to pieces every time. So quick and colourful. He seems a slight figure, so it’s a marvel that he keeps that up for a full set’s worth of music. His lightning-speed tappity-tappity on cymbals and snares is out of this world. And to keep up his consummate performer qualities, every now and then, he’ll leap up and toss a stick upwards or do some other impressive feat of stick-finger dexterity. He’s got shiny shades on so it’s difficult to see his eyes, and it gives the impression that this is all so simple for him to do. Over to Christensen’s right is guitarist Michael Jurin. He seemed a bit off before the show, so it was great to see him perk up in time for the set. He rested well before the gig I suppose, because he was back to his old tricks, falling onto the stage floor, crawling around, singing additional backup vocals. He was in the dreaded ‘dark corner’ of Richards and still stood out, so he’s doing something right.

“My Coco,” “Jenny,” “In The Walls…” They played oodles of grand tracks from the CD, as well as some new material, which was a great preview. The last time I saw them, they had an opening slot and I guess just weren’t afforded as much time to play new stuff. This has me anticipating new recordings for sure. The album tracks were spot-on though, projecting even more near-explosion energy before, sometimes, actually exploding (such as the end of “Jenny,” where Christensen, shoulders still bunched up as he literally vibrates with emotion, begins to just scream out a modified chorus). They did some incredible stuff up there.

stellastarr* hand-picked the bands for this tour, and I must commend them for choosing such a great line-up. All the bands were unique from one another, while being tied through somehow. They all seemed like they belonged together. I have never see the room clear out so quickly though. Pretty much the second stellastarr* left the stage, the house lights were flipped on, and the venue staff started ushering people out the doors. Even the bands didn’t kick around long to schmooze. evening, and I think the Killers as well, decided to drive that night. Back to San Francisco in one fell swoop for evening, and the Killers I believe were going to land in Seattle. Pretty nuts, but yeah, they just all came out for a round of hellos with the stragglers from the crowd, and then took off into the back again to load gear and hightail out of there. Perhaps down the line they’ll turn around and come back to us here. You’d better be ready.

Elsewhere

By Andy Scheffler
Photos : Andy Scheffler
Published : May 27, 2004.