This week I witnessed an unbelievable concert. Let me preface this by saying that I don't usually review concerts because I don't like to analyze them as it takes away from the whole experience.
I feel like it would be a disservice not to talk about how amazing Stars is live, so here we go — Stars is amazing live!
Sure, it might sound like I'm repeating myself, and there's loads of other adjectives I could use, but "amazing" fits perfectly.
Some nights bands are just ON. Everything falls into place, and the energy from the crowd propels them to play stronger and louder. Stars did just that at The Royal this week.
If you were lucky enough to witness the show, you probably noticed something special about them on stage. Their great vibe could have been attributed to a number of things: they could have been high from the aura of Nelson, or they could have just been high from the, er, "organic" things Nelson offers. I like to think that they've finally found the perfect balance of playing old favourites and newer songs. From playing their new dance-pop tune "Theory of Relativity," all the way back to fan favourite "Take Me To The Riot," they had it locked. It takes a while for bands to find it but once they do, they become unstoppable.
Probably because co-singer Torquil Campbell has a great grasp on how people listen to music. I caught up with him before the show and he threw some wisdom at me: "It's always more fun to open up your ears and try and hear what is happening in any piece of music." Doesn't that make you want to shake the guys hand?
There were a few things that could have possibly deterred the whole concert experience for me — like the girl who was filming an entire song on her phone with the flash on, in turn blinding everyone around her in a 10-foot radius, or the awkward as hell "Internet date" that was happening in front of me that you just KNEW one of them lied about something important — but I didn't let any of that get in the way of my dancing and pure enjoyment.
After a long career, Stars has cemented themselves as a powerhouse live band and if you ever get a chance to see them, don't miss out on it. Also, don't take an Internet date to a concert because that's just bad news. Take them to McDonalds. Everyone knows that.