Starr* Jonze

Potsy reviewed Stellastarr* last year and wasn't impressed, wasn't unimpressed. He was left unmoved. That sums up the way I've always felt about the band. I've heard their stuff on WOXY and listened to a few albums but I just don't pay much attention to the band. Maybe if I had discovered them at a different time in my life I might care about Stellastarr*. I figured they were past their prime and would fade away soon enough. Yet they continue to tour, put out records, be mentioned on blogs, and be played on the radio. Why? I needed to see for myself.

The Parish, while not exactly packed, was filled with Stellastarr* superfans. They knew the words to all the songs and happily bounced along to each tune. To the band's credit they did a great job of mixing their new stuff in with their "classic" songs. The crowd responded equally to both. A sign they aren't past their prime? Perhaps. It could've been my extremely low expectations or the fact I was close to the stage and surrounded by excited fans, but the show was very entertaining. A few tunes were a bit melodramatic but overall it was heavier than anticipated. There was some fuzz and distortion along with lots of searing guitar. I'm certainly not going to complain about that. I could get behind this band if they ditched the pop stuff and focused more on the new wave and punk songs.

This one show hasn't exactly turned me into a Stellastarr* fan. They easily surpassed my low expectations and garnered my respect. I no longer dismiss them as a shitty wuss rock band. However, I won't be lining up tickets for their next show. As I stood there amazed at how much I was enjoying the show I realized it wasn't that good. I started to compare it to other shows I had been to recently and frankly, it didn't rank very high. For example, last week I went to an in-store performance of Tiny Vipers. It was just one woman (a girl really), a microphone, and a guitar. Stellastarr* had more energy but in terms of overall performance and quality of songs, Tiny Vipers' short 5 song set won out. The Tale of the Tape says: Advantage Tiny Vipers. So there you have it. It's all so simple when you break things down.

No Concert for Old Men

stellastarr* w/ US Royalty - Sunday, November 9th @ RnRH "$16"

Don't send old men to do a young man's job.

Despite my recent review of The Who, here I am again reviewing this week's DCRC show. You may ask yourself what you did to deserve this. I have asked myself the same question. I'll spare you the details of my comrade's absences. But since we are not a professional sports team, I will out my clubmates publicly. They are weak.

I ventured down to H Street to catch both local band, US Royalty, and NYC's stellastarr* on Sunday evening. I had been listening to stellastarr* over the weekend via Myspace, not being all that familiar with their work. Survey said... not bad. I kinda liked it. With songs like Warchild and Jenny, I figured this to be a band with a pseudo 80s tinge.

Their live performance gave me an entirely different feeling, however. I saw somewhere that lead singer Shawn Christensen has had trouble with his voice in recent years, affecting his ability to hit the low notes. Maybe that was the difference... But in all honesty, I found it hard to really get into this band. They had a pretty loyal following, with the downstairs of the RNRH being 70% full on a Sunday night, and with a good number of superfans singing along - or at least mouthing the words.

There was also a large number of females in the audience for this show. I noted three incidents of upright spooning, not a good sign if you're the band inspiring this type of behavior. The Goo-Goo Dolls inspire upright spooning, ya know. Not sure if bassist Amanda Tannen inspires fellow fems to rock and is what brought so many ladies out Sunday night. But who's complaining? Amanda Tannen is not only hot, but she also lays down heavy bass lines and plays a prominent role (no window dressing here). Her singing isn't her best attribute, but it's not a detraction either.

Here's a clip that represents what this show did for me.

Overall, they were...fine. Nothing that really jumped out at me. Not offensive or annoying, but not all that inspiring either. At least not for me.

A quick word about opening act, US Royalty. I was interested in seeing another of DC's touring bands perform at the RNRH. I missed the first half of their set, but I was pleased to see a cover.

US Royalty were pretty tight, and their sound had a produced quality to it, which may have worked against them slightly. They actually sounded a bit too polished. Anyhow, onto more important matters, the guitarist needs to reconsider his boots. I don't mind it when chicks want to dress like it's 1982, but dudes need to think twice before returning down that path. Those boots do not make me envious of your rock and roll lifestyle. And that is job 1 for you Mr. Rockstar.