Stellastarr @ Cockpit
By Sean Langan
Well well, I was finally let into The Rocket venue after waiting for no one for an hour and a half. It was already starting to get sweaty with the amount of people in the smaller bar, and I was tired from the hardships of being a 6th Form student at a centre where nothing, and I mean nothing happens all day long. This had better impress me, because if it doesn't, I'm stopping life, and getting off.
The support act, The Ordinary Boys, are tipped from NME to be one of the leaders of the Brit-Pack that we can expect a great deal from in the future. Turning up late didn't impress me, or anyone else for that matter of fact. First song, nothing new. Second song, more of the same-old. Third song, alright I guess, fourth song, ok, but what's this? The next song is our last?! A set of five songs! From a very ordinary band?! Ace! Song five: I'm sure you got the picture from the other songs. Ok, ok, alright already, maybe I'm being a bit harsh, because The Ordinary Boys weren't bad. But nor were they good, just very average. To sum it up they didn't make my boring day at 6th Form any better, maybe a little bit worse, but not by much. 6/10
And so on to Stellastarr*. I've been intrigued by this band ever since seeing them at Leeds Festival. I just wanted to make sure what I had seen there wasn't a blip, and that this band really does have a great future in the music universe.
They threw in a surprise right from the word go, with Shawn Christensen coming on without a guitar for "On My Own". The music was quality, but Shawn seemed to be a bit nervous for their opening night of their headlining tour and just stood still, almost hypnotised by the now full Rocket. However by the end he was a frantic spasming mass, going crazy. Now THIS is good! "No Weather" is a fuzz punk stormer of a song followed by the epic beauty of "Million Reasons", with Amanda's backing vocals soaring well above the stratosphere.
"Somewhere Across Forever" is a brilliant form of pop punk, and tangled lyrical mess of building new worlds, absolutely perfect! Michael Jurin sends the audience another surprise by playing his guitar to the B-side of the "Jenny" single with his metal capo, making the most delightful string sound that I have heard live at a gig. I'm still not a
hundred percent certain that it wasn't just an illusion, and just his effects pedals. What the hell, it looked bloody fantastic! In the song "My Coco", Stellastarr* show that they are more than just a good looking Pixies/The Cure tribute band, and that their best moments come with the dance ridden basslines, and the funky beats coming from Arthur Kremer, this was definitely one of the songs that stood out the most, alongside "In The Walls".
"Moon Girl" is just one of those brilliant songs that so many of the 'so called nu-revolution rock 'n' roll groups' are missing. Again filled with passion and melody only to be carnaged by the wonderful sonic warfare, which is then again crushed to a pulp by the beautiful melody. Shawn is all over the place, and if this guy is not prepared for fame, he should be, because in the next few years everyone is going to want a slice of him. They close the set with crowd pleaser "Jenny", which is just pure Pixies to the bone; actually, it's better, with the Kim Deal esque backing vocals once again coming from Amanda.
They really close the set with an encore of "Pulp Song", which is a fitting end to a wonderful gig, my boring day has ended, there is reason to plod on with life, the Stellastarr* CD will be bought for sure this weekend, and I think I have just seen a very important gig, from what will be a very important band! 10/10
All I can say is, come back to reality, stop buying The Darkness and go and buy Stellastarr*'s CD, or go and see them live before the tickets are being sold for thousands of pounds on eBay! The future's bright, the future IS Stellastarr*!
