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Photo by ChasingFun

Gimmie some risk takers. Gimmie Torquil Campbell. Take those pop song formulas and turn them on their ear. Belt it out like an unabashed balladeer at and then turn around and channel psycho killer-era-David Byrne.

I caught Stars on the second of two sold-out performances at Bimbo's 365 Club in San Francisco. From first thumping notes of In the Beginning After the End, which prefaced the band's entrance on a darkened stage, to the final stains of Barricade almost two hours later, Stars delivered a creative show full of solid musicianship to an adoring crowd. To say the average age of the audience hovered around 28 might be a mild exaggeration. It was cool to be brushing shoulders with members of Death Cab for Cutie on the Bimbo's floor.

Photo: Dennis

Torq's got great stage presence and his energy, jerky and neurotic at moments, propels the ensemble. I have to admit however, that the quiet girlishness of Amy Millan's voice was perhaps the element that first attracted me to this music. Together, Torquil and Amy are both foils and compliments to each other. Millan anchors us with power chords and steady rock licks when Campell is lost in his frenzy (the sweat causing him to lose his earphone monitors multiple times in one number). Following this the duo will deftly execute one of their numerous duets such as Midnight Coward or Personal. (The latter being a tune begging for incorporation into a rock musical.)

I get sentimental easily and my heartstrings like to be jerked, if it's done in the right way. In spite of being a real bummer of a story, Personal is genius in its portrayal of our ability to so quickly turn our backs on one another. A phenomenon that's become sadly exaggerated in the age of internet dating. Thankfully I didn't have to betray my masculinity by shouting for My Favourite Book during the encore. There were plenty of lovesick females holding that down for me.

Sometimes I see a band and am disappointed that all of the stuff that sounded great on the album doesn't come off live. Hiphop shows have perhaps been the worst offenders. As a unit Stars was tight the entire evening. They nailed the tempo changes/metric modulations and odd meters in Window Bird. (I'm not too sure what's going on, musically, in this song, but I love it.) I was also surprised at Torquil's ability to pick up a cold trumpet and play in tune at various points in the evening. Amy did a fine job doubling on flute.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

The spectacle of the evening was fun and engaging as well. The LED-covered suit that Torquil donned for The Ghost of Genova Heights was well placed. The colorful floral bouquets adorning the amps, drums and mic stands blended beautifully with blue and purple floods. The flowers seemed well suited to the heart-wrenching, yet affirming...triumphant, yet dark...stories told by Stars.

Encores. Let me just say a word or two. I've seen enough shows that I'm just not inspired to applaud for several minutes while the house lights are still off and the band is obviously coming back. I just went through this with Ornette Coleman at an SFJAZZ show. Thank you Stars for not keeping us waiting. And thanks again for not following a tired pattern (love song, great song we didn't play, Big Finale): The final song of the evening was just Torquil and a guest accordion player doing Barricade to a piano track. (I can't help but hear Morrissey when Campell sings this tune.)