CAMERAPHONIC

This was going to be my first time seeing Stars and the anticipation was wearing me out. Seriously, all day at work all I could think about were all the Amy Millan and Torquil Campbell duets I was going to hear that night. It’s pretty safe to say that I wasn’t going to be disappointed. The only concern of the night was WHERE THE HECK I WAS GOING TO FIND PARKING ???

Snagged a spot about 6 blocks away and headed towards Bimbo’s. The night was unusually warm for SF this time of year. Anyone agree with me? Bay area peeps?

I missed the first half of Lloyd Cole’s set, but caught some of his wonderful opening tunes with just him and his acoustic guitar. At one point the noise level in the audience was starting to grow and in the middle of his song he smirked and said “I could play softer if you like.” It was all in good flavor and he seemed to have quite a following at Bimbo’s.

After Lloyd’s set ended I made my way up stage right where it was getting packed as I was getting crammed right up against this huge subwoofer. I positioned myself and my camera for…STARS!

Can I just say this, Amy Millan freaking rocks!

There were times during the set that I was in awe of the quality of musicianship of this band. They played a smattering of tunes from “Set Yourself on Fire” and “In Our Bedrooms after the War” which delighted the crowd. I always love bands who have great dynamics to their set, where they can rise and fall with emotion. This band puts it out there as they can whisper or shout their message to the audience. I was a little concerned how they would come out especially since it was their second night at Bimbo’s. Were they going to come out flat? or sparkle a bit more. I don’t know how the previous night was, but this was definitely a huge sparkle. Maybe even fireworks. They genuinely seemed to have tons of fun on stage, playing with the audience, engaging each other in musical banter, taking a page from the Smiths and throwing carnations out into the crowd…although I would have enjoyed gladiolas but that may be too Smiths for them.

Things got really cooking when they played “Soft Revolution”. I was glad to hear they were going to play songs off of “Set Yourself on Fire”. Although I enjoy their newest effort, I felt a closer bond to this album. Maybe it was the fact that I only had their newest disc for a couple of weeks, but I felt a more complete connection to Set Yourself. I don’t necessarily feel a decline in anything, it is just personal preference. What’s in store for this band? What does the future bring? This is a supergroup and I feel that big things are in store for many of them individually if it hasn’t already happened. I hope they come to San Francisco once again. Canada is just too far for me.

If there is a band to see live, I would recommend seeing Stars if you are given the chance. They are pure entertainment in the simplest of words. There is no need to sit around and wonder if it’s worth it…it most definitely is.

Words and Photos by Pat Chen
http://picasaweb.google.com/pat.chen
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Pat Chen is a photojournalist based out of the San Francisco Bay Area. He will be representing the SF music scene for us from time to time.

Links:

• Battles Website | Myspace
• Buy Stars Albums at Insound!